


Dead in Love

by Zhenya66



Series: Dead End Trilogy [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternative Univers, Angst, Blood, Criminal AU, Drama, F/F, Fluff, Future Character Death, Gore, M/M, Sadness, Shooting, Suspense, mentions of drug use, none explicit sexual content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-07 16:35:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7721959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zhenya66/pseuds/Zhenya66
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Any game looks straight if everyone is being cheated at once."</p><p>-When sergeant Yaku Morisuke is kidnapped and the only clue to find him is a dead body and the name of a dead woman, officer Kuroo Tetsurou takes it on himself to save him from almost certain death. In the mean time, sergeant Hoshiumi Kourai of the Koto PD is in charge of investigating the deaths of numerous women, sinking deeper and deeper in the underground crime world of Tokyo.<br/>Officer Kuroo receives the best birthday present.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Calm before the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Finally, the second part to "Dead End"! This will help me get rid of the shame that was that stupid trash 'Dead End'!!! I hope you like it! Forgive me for any mistakes I might have made!!!! Plus - I know it's late, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YAKU-SAN! This isn't a very good present, but anyway!

NOVEMBERS IN KOTO-KU WERE cold, but Kourai Hoshiumi’s blood burned in his vanes. While his colleagues were warmly dressed, he walked along the harbor with his white sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The pale hairs over his exposed arms and neck stood as the cold, ocean wind blew past him, but did Kourai mind?

 The answer was a simple _no_.

 When Kourai stepped on the murder scene, his colleagues made way for him. It wasn’t a rule he had set, nor was it due to his status. When Kourai Hoshiumi stepped on a scene, his demeanor completely changed. Something in his whole façade became stoic and cold, like the Koto weather. Officer Hoshiumi was by no means a slacker and believed in hard work, but the usual glint in his eyes darkened whenever he went out to work. That was something, which made his coworkers fear him and make him way. As if Kourai was a bomb ready to blow.

 When the officer walked under the yellow line of police tape surrounding the scene, he was met with a gruesome sight. Kourai wasn’t the type to be disgusted easily. His profession had thought him better. The corpse before him was definitely one of a kind if it made him close his eyes and shiver, stopping dead in his tracks. The rotten stench wasn’t one he took a liking to as well. None of that stopped Motoya Komori from doing his job and taking pictures of the corpse, laid over a black bag in front of them. His camera snapped loudly with every taken picture and Kourai could almost see the light of its flash.

 “Is it identified?” he asked, finally gathering the courage to step closer to Motoya.

 “Sadly, no.” the photographer sighed, lowering his camera, “I fear that it won’t be. According to the medic, the body is in an end stage of decomposition.”

 “Where was it found?”

 “A fisherman caught it in his web while fishing.” Motoya explained, flashing another picture of the corpse. “According to the medic however, the body has spend almost a year under the water. At first sight, he said it is the body of a young female, but the cause of death is unknown.”

 Kourai did not see anything female in the body before him. To say it was in the end stage of decomposition was understandable. The body looked like that of a stereotypical zombie. Little to no hair stuck to its scalp. The skin of its face was almost completely gone along with the eyes. The body and limbs were bony and almost lacked any flesh. Kourai could see seaweed and small crabs stuck to the torn clothing of the corpse. A crab shell was ‘elegantly’ stuck to the inner side of the corpse’s empty eye socket. When the stench of rotting, wet flesh finally set over Kourai, he began to feel his breakfast climbing back up his throat.

 “It’s possible that the body‘s been tossed around by the current.” Kourai noted, covering his nose with his wrist to stop the wretched stench from invading his nostrils. “If it can’t be identified, we’ll have to search through the files and see if there have been any recent disappearances. When I say recent, I mean from no longer than a year. We’ll wait until the medical report is out. If there are any injuries over the body that could be the cause of death, we’ll consider starting an investigation, if not, we’ll label the case closed. It might be the normal suicide or accident.”

 “Roger that.” Motoya cheerfully replied. A lot of times Kourai had wondered what the reason for his happiness was. Surely no one could smile as much as Komori and be unhappy. The thoughts would slip out of Kourai’s mind as quick as they’d come. “Should we make a photo robot and publish it in the press for more information on the victim if we don’t find anything in the archive?”

 “Only if the cause of death is different than drowning. I don’t want the press finding out about this.”

 “Got it!”

 Motoya didn’t question him further and returned to his work in examining the body.

 As much as Kourai had wanted to leave mere seconds ago, now he felt attracted to the corpse of the so identified female. The sight still disgusted him and chilled him to the bone, but there was something in the almost skinless skull which looked like it screamed for help. Almost as if the female had died, desperately screaming in terror and panic, while fighting for her life.

 Such poetic thoughts were strangers to Kourai. His thoughts flew smoothly through his mind and he rarely stopped their flow for such nonsense. Kourai Hoshiumi wasn’t the type to actually _think_ , to begin with. He was a man of instincts. And his predictions never failed. That’s how he had climbed the lather of success to his current position as the head of Koto’s police department. And as little as his colleagues of the other wards thought of him, every policeman and officer in Koto-ku respected him.

 Kourai Hoshiumi might have been a small man in size, but he definitely wasn’t a small man in character.

 “Such a disgusting sight…” the officer found him self whispering beneath his nose, stepping beside Motoya to inspect the corpse himself. Up close, the sight was indeed a lot more disgusting and the stench a lot viler. “How can you stand the smell, Komori…?”

 “Practice, boss.” Motoya snapped another picture. When Kourai looked down at him with a raised brow, he grinned and looked up at him, pointing towards his nose, “But most of all, I got a cold. My nose is stuffed.”

 Kourai found himself nodding, while Motoya gave a short sniff, to prove his point.

 “Well, my nose isn’t. So I’ll be leaving.”

 “I’ll be done soon. I’ll ask you if you want to wait for me and we can go back together. Maybe have coffee on our break?”

 “Sure. I’ll be waiting in the car.”

 Komori nodded in agreement and continued his inspection, while Kourai threw a final glance at the female body before turning to leave. He snuck under the yellow police tape and walked boldly down the harbor towards his car. The wet, ocean wind brushed through the officer’s skin and cleared his senses from the rotten stench of the corpse behind him.

 A few steps from his car, Kourai stopped and looked towards the ocean. The waves splashed angrily against the concrete side of the harbor and toyed with the small fishing boats tied to it as it pleased. Dark clouds gathered above and Kourai felt a heavy feeling of dread settle over him. He hadn’t felt so pressured and tense since he started his work in the department.

 But Kourai wasn’t the type to trust such feelings. For all he knew, he might have been catching Motoya’s cold. Or perhaps the stench of the corpse had gotten to him.

 Shaking his head, Kourai opened the door to his car and stepped behind the wheel, ready to wait for his colleague.

**\---**

**2**

**\---**

_Kanto region, Tokyo district, Nerima-ku_

_07:45_

 Their mornings were never slow and tired. Mostly because of Lev’s loud and hurried nature. They usually got up early, did everything by the clock due to Morisuke’s orderly habits, but in the same time they always managed to be late for work. Something would always pop up in the last minute.

 Much like the very morning of November 17th, in which Morisuke found himself pacing nervously across their apartment, while Lev tried to tie his tie, sniffling loudly in front of the mirror in the hall.

 “I can’t believe we forgot!” yelled to him self Morisuke and Lev couldn’t help but look at him from the hall, “The unit has been planning his birthday all week and talking about it and we _still_ forgot!”

 “Yaku-san, we can buy Kuroo-san something nice after work!” Lev offered, sniffling again and brushing his nose with the back of his hand. A cold was not the thing he had expected to wake up with. “We have money saved for a present, how about we take some and buy him flowers now?”

 “Isn’t it a bit girlish?” Morisuke asked and after a short moment of thought, Lev shook his head. He walked past his superior and lover and stepped into the kitchen, where he reached to take a jar from one of the top shelves above the sink. Behind him, Morisuke continued to panic. “It’s not only his birthday, we’re being late for work! The whole congratulating will be over before we make it there!”

 “Stop yelling, Yaku-san.” Lev called to him from the kitchen, voice muffled due to his stuffed sinuses. He tried to sniff again, but that only brought a soft, throbbing pain to his temples.

 Lev took a few bills from the jar before setting it back in its place and turning to Morisuke. “Here! Flowers are a neutral gift for everything! We’ll buy some and give them to Kuroo-san this morning and then go and get an actual present after our shift.”

 “We won’t have time! And God, are you catching a cold?! Great job, that’s all I needed!”

 “I’m fine, Yaku-san! Don’t worry though, I’ll go out earlier! I’m gonna help Hinata with his patrols!”

 “Don’t slack!” Yaku took the money from Lev’s hand and after putting the bills securely in his pockets, he reached up to tie his problematic tie, “And don’t ruin shrimpy’s work too. He’s working for a promotion next year.”

 “I know Yaku-san, I would never hold him down!...I’m working for a promotion too.”

 “I know.”

 A quick look towards the clock made Morisuke panic again. He let out a string of profanities, to which Lev could only laugh, while trying to pull on his jacket and shoes in no more than a minute.

 That’s how their mornings went. Rushed and full of yelling and curses. It was the way they had settled things ever since they moved in together. And while Morisuke liked yelling in the morning before work, his yells were accompanied by soft and worried gestures which made Lev melt. While pacing left and right through the apartment, he would tie Lev’s tie and brush bred crumbs from the corners of his mouth while he ate breakfast. He brushed stray strands of hair from his forehead and buttoned up his shirts till the last button, all the while talking about their most recent work and the reports they had to fill out once they got to the department. Lev had gotten to the conclusion that talking while he served him in some way or another calmed Morisuke’s nerves.

 The morning of November 17th was nothing but the same. While walking hurriedly down the stairs of their building, Morisuke would occasionally check if he had a fever or brush his nose, as if he was a child in need of care. And Lev kept quiet and endured the motherly treatment, just because it calmed him – as much as working while talking calmed Morisuke - and showed him that Morisuke actually cared.

 “If it gets worse, go home.” Morisuke ordered him, as both got in their car to drive towards the department. Lev agreed offhandedly, having heard the very same speech many times before.

 On their way they stopped by the local flower shop and bought a simple bouquet for their long time colleague Tetsurou Kuroo. Morisuke still couldn’t believe how he had forgotten it. He was almost certain the 17th was next week, but before he knew it, Lev was asking him what they would buy Tetsurou for the occasion, while calmly eating his breakfast. All week the department had been planning the little celebration, everyone spoke about it and Morisuke knew, but there he was, forgetting his friend’s birthday. He definitely deserved a Best Friend reward.

 “How old is Kuroo-san turning?” Lev asked, while Morisuke drove down the street towards the department.

 “Twenty seven.” Morisuke answered plainly, pulling into the parking lot in front of the building.

 “Well, he sure is younger than I thought! I hope he lives twenty seven years more!”

 “Yeah…We’re going to wish him just that.” Morisuke grinned and stopped the car. He leaned back into his seat and waited for the engine to cool down. “I really can’t believe he lived _this_ far. Twenty seven years more is a good wish.”

 Lev nodded, leaning back into his own seat. Memories from a year ago were still fresh in his mind. Dreams of screams and steam filled tunnels haunted his mind at night and brought back the memory again and again. But amongst the bad memories he had made in his first days in Nerima, the good ones flashed brightly like little stars. His daydreams were blessed by the memory of a cloudy afternoon, similar to the current one, and a comfortable spinning chair in a small, orderly office. His first meeting with his small, workaholic superior hadn’t been the best one, but it shone bright in Lev’s mind even now, a year later.

 “We better get going now.” Morisuke sighed after a moment, taking off his seatbelt. “I seriously think we’re late! Thank God I don’t see Kuroo’s car around…”

 The two walked out of the car, Morisuke locked it, and headed towards the glass doors of the department – their shared workplace.

 They had made it before Tetsurou’s long awaited arrival and instead of scolding his lateness, Morisuke blessed it. Everyone on the floor of the investigation unit was waiting happily for their superior, holding presents, balloons and flowers. Loud, excited chatter filled the floor.

 “Yaku-san’s here!” Sou Inuoka called, sprinting down the hall with a colorful present bag in hand.

 “Is Kuroo coming?” Koutarou Bokuto asked, stepping out of their shared office. “He said he was coming when I texted him, but we’re nowhere near ready!”

 “He’s parking outside!” Akane Yamamoto, the unit’s secretary, yelled, face and hands pressed against one of the large windows in the hall. 

 “I’ll go keep him busy,” Issei Matsukawa, another colleague and close friend of theirs, called, walking quickly past Morisuke and Lev. “You guys get ready and set everything up!”

 “Okay, everyone, take your places and not a peep until Mattsun gives the signal!” ordered Koutarou, urging Lev and Morisuke in their office, “Akane! Stay serious behind your desk!”

 “Got it!” replied the secretary.

 Not long after, the hall was again quiet. Everyone, rookies and veteran policemen and investigators, stood giggling quietly behind the doors of their offices, while Akane tried to suppress her exited grin, while waiting for the birthday boy and Matsukawa to show up.

 And when they stepped into the hall, the doors opened and everyone erupted into loud cheers of Happy Birthday. From bellow her desk Akane took out a round cake with the same words written over the chocolate surface in white. The suddenness of the surprise startled Tetsurou, but once the officer and birthday boy finally understood what was happening around him, a big grin spread over his face in childish delight.

 “You shouldn’t have guys!” he tried to say, but his voice was lost in all the others around him.

 “Kuroo, my man, happy birthday!” yelled Koutarou, swinging an arm around his shoulder and pushing a small box wrapped in red shiny paper in his arms. “Congrats on surviving another year!”

 “And may you live twenty seven more!” added Morisuke, giving him the humble bouquet.

 “Kuroo-san, Kuroo-san, blow out the candles!” happily piped up Akane, almost pushing the cake at Tetsurou.

 “Weeei, what a party!” Tetsurou laughed and when he blew out the candles, everyone around him erupted in even louder cheers.

 Balloons flew to the ceiling and gifts were exchanged, while the cake was cut on Akane’s desk. Another year of hardship and struggles had passed in the department and everyone had the right to celebrate.

 All the noise eventually died down and everyone went back to their work, fed and happy. Akane had to swipe confetti and popped balloons from the floor of the hall, almost skipping in giddy excitement. And while everyone discussed their work for the day behind the doors of their offices, Tetsurou marveled at the pile of presents and flowers on and around his desk.

 “I really can’t believe what I’m seeing…” he whistled to him self. “This really does exceed my expectations. It won’t fit in the car!”

 “Don’t worry, we’ll help you!” from behind his desk threw in Matsukawa, “After the day, we’re going to your place for an after party!”

 “You’re always invited, buddy.”

 “By the way, Kuroo,” Koutarou began, again throwing an arm over his friend’s shoulder, “How do you like that present of yours?”

 Tetsurou thought, looking down at the watch on his wrist. A black, elegant – and most of all expensive – Rolex.

 “Well,” he began to answer, “Honestly, when you said you were going to buy me a watch, I thought you would buy me one of those cheap toys with a Hello Kitty picture.”

 “Would you be happier with that?! You should have told me sooner, this thing cost a whole fortune!” Koutarou patted his shoulder, “It’s from both me and Akaashi, if you’re wondering, so don’t expect anything for a few birthdays ahead.”

 “I honestly thought you would get me a Hello Kitty watch! Who else thought the same?!”

 “Dude,” Issei began, “If you wanted one so bad, you should have told _someone_! I wouldn’t have bought you what I did! I would have saved a yen or few hundred!”

 Tetsurou only shrugged, “Not my problem you decided on expensive presents! Look at this pile guys, look at it! You should have only gotten me flowers!”

 “And when’s the party at your place tonight?” Hajime asked, sipping at his coffee.

 “Right after the shift, guys.” Tetsurou answered, before looking around at his colleagues expectantly. “You’re all coming, right?”

 “Won’t miss it for anything!” Koutarou yelled, in almost complete unisons with Issei, while Hajime held in his laughter.

 “And Kuroo,” Morisuke called from his office suddenly, opening the door, “While talking about presents…Do you have anything you both want and most of all _need_ …?”

**\---**

**3**

**\---**

 An hour before Shouyou Hinata called him to head out, Lev made his way down the hall and towards Akane Yamamoto’s desk. While he could concentrate on his paperwork so far, the dull ache in his forehead and temples – a sign of a forming headache - steadily rose until he could no longer last it. He had asked his colleagues if they had any medicine, but when it was certain they didn’t, Inuoka told him to check on Akane’s desk. The secretary had proved to always be helpful in whatever regard she could. That also meant that she had a big stash of medicine which cured anything from the lightest headache to the worst of colds.

 When Lev didn’t find Akane behind her desk, he decided to search for the pills he needed on his own. He stepped behind the messy desk and began to look through the drawers. When he couldn’t find anything there, he straightened up and looked through the various files and papers over it. Akane could be orderly and clean, but most of the time her desk was as messy as his own.

 While looking through her papers however, something caught Lev’s attention. A clean letter addressed towards the young secretary with the stamp of the Tokyo Police Academy on the lower right corner of the paper. Being as curious as he was, Lev decided to give the letter a quick look. Why would Akane of all people have something like it on her desk?

 The answers were all in the letter.

 Lev hadn’t even read it halfway, when Akane returned, holding a cup of coffee for herself. When she saw him, she quickly ran to her desk and took the letter straight from his hands.

 “How much did you read?!” she asked, looking up at him. She didn’t look mad or offended of his lack of personal space, on the contrary. She looked just as giddy with joy as she did the same morning.

 Having read enough, Lev could only grin. Akane answered with the same. “I read enough! Akane-chan _congratulations_!”

 “Thank you!” the secretary squealed and held the piece of white paper to her chest. “I can’t believe it happened. I’m so happy!”

 “I didn’t even know you volunteered for the Academy!”

 “I’ve wanted to sign up for it ever since my brother joined the department! Last month I asked Yaku-san about the procedure and how to sign up for the entrance exam and I passed it! I got the results last week and this is my _invitation_!”

 Lev laughed at her joy, “So you want to become a policeman?”

 “I want to become an investigator!” corrected him Akane, “And this is my ticket to it! The lessons start next week, I have to be settled in the dormitory until then…”

 Suddenly, Akane fell silent. Her smile became less happy and more sad. Her sudden change of character made Lev wonder what the cause was.

 Akane answered him before he could even ask, “The truth is, I haven’t told my brother yet…And I want to ask you not to tell him too.”

 “But won’t he learn on his own when you move out?”

 “He will but…” Akane sighed, “I don’t even know. He doesn’t want me to go. Honestly he doesn’t even want me here as a secretary. He says it’s too dangerous…”

 “I can’t say it isn’t, but Akane-chan you have what it takes! Tora-san shouldn’t be worried!”

 “Try telling him that!” Akane huffed in annoyance and put the letter back on her desk. “The whole month I’ve been studying like crazy here at work and at home. I’m so _ready_ for this! But if I tell my brother now, he’ll just forbid me from going. That’s why I’m not telling him.”

 “But the rest of the unit already knows…?”

 “Well, Yaku-san does. And Bokuto-san and Kuroo-san, because I asked them this and that. The exam was really harder than I expected…”

 Lev didn’t need to be told twice. Having already graduated from the Academy in Saitama – with grades bellow average, but still passing - he knew that the regime in the police school wasn’t as light as most people made it out to be. There were many volunteers and little made it past the training. But Lev was certain that Akane could make it. Aside from her normally sharp and cool mind and her keen observation skills, Akane was definitely ambitious. She had all the right qualifications, even more than Lev had.

 He knew what it was like to have a worrying older sibling around as well, but if Taketora wanted to play such a big trick on Akane’s future, then that definitely couldn’t be counted as brotherly love.

 “I’ll tell mom and dad,” said Akane, “I’ll move out while bro’s on shift and he’ll just learn later.”

 “That’s not very fair towards him either…” mumbled Lev, “It’s best if you just tell him. Explain the situation and I bet he won’t hold you back.”

 “It’s not so easy…My brother…He’s not like Alisa-san.”

 “My sister didn’t take it easy too. The police work is a dangerous one, so I doubt any caring sibling would want their brother or sister to get messed up in it.”

 Akane looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

 “And how did Alisa-san take it? When you told her what you want to do?”

 “Well, I don’t really know, and she might have had objections, but she was studying abroad back then and couldn’t do anything even if she wanted!” Lev grinned, “But I did call her and told her what I was going to do. I explained that that was my dream! A few months later a got a congratulations gift from her over the post.”

 “My brother would never do that…”

 “It’s still your duty to tell him, even if he doesn’t take it as well. Try it. I’m sure nothing bad can happen! Most of all, you’re a capable young person and Tora-san can’t do anything to stop you.”

 Akane considered his words, “I guess you’re right…Thanks Haiba-kun!”

 “You’re welcome!”

**\---**

**4**

**\---**

 The cold November wind blew through the mostly empty streets and made Lev shiver, as he stepped out of the warm store Morisuke had made him visit. He was again forced to reach up and wipe his nose with the back of his hand, coughing to clear his sore throat, before heading towards the end of the street, where Shouyou Hinata had parked the patrol car.

 While walking down the wet sidewalk, the phone in his inner pocket rang. With great effort he placed the fully wrapped present in his other hand and stopped to take out his phone.

 As expected, Morisuke’s voice called him from the other end of the line, “ _Did you get it_?”

 “I did.” Lev answered, resuming his walking, “But, Yaku-san, I doubt I’ll be going to Kuroo-san’s birthday party tonight…”

 “ _Is your cold getting worse? I can hear the rasp in your voice. You can go home, shrimpy’ll cover for you_.”

Lev raised his head and tried to sniff the snot back in his nose, stopping a bit before the patrol car.

 “I think I’ll make it till the end of the shift,” he took a breath through his dry mouth, “I’ll make Hinata company.”

 “ _Try not to contaminate him too_! _You can go home now_.”

 “No, no. I can keep up!” a short cough left him, “But you’ll have to pass by home to get the present.”

 “ _I will, don’t worry. I told Kuroo I’ll come by a bit later. I want to change and take a shower too_.” There was a short silence, before Morisuke added, _“I’ll check on you too. You’re going to have to take something for that cold. I’ll see you after I’m done, alright_?”

 “Got it, Yaku-san. I’m hanging up now, I’m on the street and it’s freezing…” As if on cue, a tremor shot up Lev’s spine and made him cough.

 “ _Don’t get out of the car, alright_? _Make shrimpy turn up the heater_!”

 “Bye, Yaku-san…”

 As happy as hearing Morisuke’s voice made him, Lev couldn’t keep up with the cold on the street. He pushed his phone in the pocket of his police jacket and, while balancing Tetsurou’s present in one hand, opened the door of the car with the other.

 “What took you so long?” Shouyou whined, as Lev tried to get comfortable on the front seat and bend his legs in the space between it and the dashboard.

 He shut the door and turned to leave the wrapped present on the back seat.

 “I was talking to Yaku-san…” Lev explained, hissing at the pain, which hit his sore muscles at the movement, “About the present.”

 “So what did you buy for Rooster head?” Shouyou asked with a smile, leaning over the driver’s wheel.

 Lev took out a dry napkin from the pocket of his jacket and blew his nose before answering, “It’s a coffee machine. He told Yaku-san that he liked it, ‘cause it was red... It really was though, and shiny, like the wrapper!”

 “That’s really cool!” exclaimed his colleague, “I only got him a T-shirt…Bokuto-san said he would love it though! It was really neat!”

 Lev nodded along, reaching over to turn up the power of the heater.

 “By the way, you don’t look good…” drawled Shouyou, “And you don’t sound alright. You sick?”

 “Yeah…Just a cold though. I woke up with it.”

 “You should go home! I can cover for you, if you want…”

 “I’ll keep up!” Lev cleared his throat again, coughing in his fist, “We don’t have much to do anyway. I’ll be fine in the car.”

 Shouyou only shrugged and leaned back in his seat.

 “There’s a really nasty flue going around.” He began offhandedly, “My sister visited last week and the moment she stepped out of the train she got sick! This November really is the month of colds, huh?”

 Lev only sniffled in replay, before reaching up to wipe his red, irritated nose.

**\---**

**5**

**\---**

 The flue season hit November with all it had. Nerima was struck with all kinds of made up viruses with mixed symptoms – most of which high fever, coughing and stuffed noses. Some of the worst cases would end up with red, itchy rashes all over their bodies along with the already noted.

 Lev Haiba was lucky enough to be spared of the rash, but he did get everything else, along with a dull, throbbing headache. While he felt fairly good in the morning, everything escalated by the time Morisuke came home to get ready for the birthday celebration at Tetsurou’s. By then Lev was shuddering under the covers of their shared bed, struck by a 39.4 degree fever and a painful cough, which left his chest hurting every time it subsided.

 “I’m going to call Kuroo and tell him I’m not going.” Morisuke told him after inspecting the results of the thermometer. “It’s really high. If it keeps rising, we’ll have to go to the hospital.”

 “No way…” Lev groaned, burying himself deeper under the heavy covers, “I’m not going…And you should go to Kuroo-san’s…”

 Morisuke touched his sweaty forehead, brushing away his bangs with a deep sigh. “You’re burning, Lev. Wait here, I’ll get you some medicine.”

 Morisuke came back a moment later with a white pill in hand and a glass of water in his other. “This is for the fever.”

 With great effort Lev sat up long enough to take the pill, shuddering as it went down his sore throat with the water, before Morisuke tucked him back under the covers.

 “I’ll go call Kuroo, I can’t leave you like this.”

 At those words, Lev only shook his head.

 “You should go, Yaku-san.” He groaned, “You have to give Kuroo-san our present. Go and have fun, I’ll manage on my own.”

 “Do you think I’ll have much fun with you here?” Morisuke raised a brow, “I’ll stay with you, Lev.”

 “Go.” Lev urged, “I’ll be happy if you do! I’ll be all better when you come back. Go for just a little, to give him the present…”

 Morisuke stared at him for a minute, thinking. He had no right to leave Lev when he was sick to go have fun. He wouldn’t be able to have fun when he knew how high Lev’s fever was.

 “I really want you to go!” Lev continued, “If I have a problem I’ll call you.”

 “What if I called your sister?” but than again, that wouldn’t be a good idea. Morisuke would make a terrible impression – leaving his boyfriend sick to go and celebrate someone’s birthday. “No…No, that’s not a good idea.” He looked back at Lev, “Do you promise to call me if you’re feeling too bad? I’ll be back in no more than an hour.”

 Lev almost laughed, “Yaku-san, you need an hour to get to Kuroo-san’s! You can take all you want, just have fun. It’s not your fault I’m sick anyway. You’ll just get sick too, if you keep crowding me so much!”

 Morisuke grinned, “I thought you wanted to be sick with me?”

 “Do _you_ want to?”

 The officer shook his head, “Now that I think of it, no.” He sighed and stood up. “Promise to call me if the fever doesn’t go down in an hour. I’ll go to give Kuroo the present and congratulate him.”

 Lev smiled and sniffed, reaching towards the nightstand for the box of tissues.

 Morisuke took a short shower and pulled on a clean shirt and pants. He decided against a tie. After he was ready, he went back to check on Lev. It was definitely unpleasant to be hot and sweaty under heavy covers when the fever made him even hotter, but unlike many other times, Lev didn’t whine. Maybe because if he did, Morisuke would stay behind for him and that was something he didn’t want.

 “I’ll be going now.” Morisuke said after making sure Lev was well under the bed covers, “Call me if something’s wrong.”

 Lev blew his nose and left the dirty napkin beside his pillow, “I will. Can you just pass me the remote for the TV…?”

 Morisuke shook his head and gave him the device.

 “I’m serious. I’ll be back really soon.”

 “Have fun! Wish Kuroo-san a happy birthday from me.”

 “Will do.”

 “Can you stop by the store and buy more tissues though? Make sure you get a lot.”

 Morisuke smiled, “I’ll do that too. You rest up.”

 He closed the bedroom door, turned off the lights in the living room and kitchen and after pulling on his plain jacket and his shoes walked out of the door. He lingered in the hall for a bit, weighting his options, then shook his head with a sigh. Lev was a grown up person, there was no need to worry. So Morisuke closed the door and headed down the hall towards the stairs.

**\---**

**6**

**\---**

 Over the years in which Tetsurou worked in the department’s investigation unit he had grown close and fond of his colleagues. They weren’t just coworkers, they were friends. Tetsurou loved inviting them over for dinners or to celebrate holydays and birthdays. It was always the same people he invited. Morisuke and Koutarou were the first on his list. Then were Issei and Hajime, who would definitely bring Takahiro Hanamaki and Toru Oikawa, a close friend of the unit and a classy lawyer, to who Tetsurou felt indepted for many reasons.

 It was fun having all of them over. Most of all, Tetsurou was very grateful for their presence in his life.

 “I always thought I would end up studying medicine,” he would always say whenever they gathered to celebrate his birthday, “Or maybe biochemistry! But I’m glad I work what I work, because if I didn’t, I would never have met cool people like you guys.”

 He was prone to such choice of words and little speeches, which left people inspired, even though they acted like they were no big deal. His way with words was something people always remembered him with.

 The night of his twenty seventh birthday was like the other celebrations before it. They sat on the table in the kitchen, exchanged wishes and thank yous and raised their glasses in happy cheers. They talked about work and their plans, while Keiji Akaashi helped Kenma serve them dinner.

 A few weeks after it had happened, Koutarou told Tetsurou all about the crisis in his relationship with Keiji. It was a long story like the plot of a cheap romance movie, but now, after a little under a year later, their relationship went better than ever. Especially after Keiji had moved from Chubu to Tokyo and had ceased his undercover work.  He had a lot on his mind after his last mission, Koutarou had explained. He was still considered working and some days tensely waited for a call from his new superior in Chiyoda, but so far his phone remained silent. _Sarukui-san’s doing his good work_ , Keiji would say, ending the conversation. As long as he was close, Tetsurou knew not to bother worrying about Koutarou and his well being.

 An hour after his arrival, Morisuke received a call from Lev. At first he was worried that something was wrong, but Lev assured him that he was just checking on him – rather than the other way around – and that his fever had lowered. That calmed Morisuke down and he return to the table to continue his conversation with the rest of his colleagues.

 “Wish him a quick recovery from me when you get back home,” Koutarou said after Morisuke sat down. “Poor novice.”

 “There are really nasty viruses going around.” Toru offhandedly mentioned with a disgusted shuddered, “Most of my colleagues are down with them.”

 “It is the month of flues after all.” Issei noted, “Hiro’s been out of town for a while, on some seminar in Osaka. He says it’s the same plague there.”

 The conversation quickly took another root towards Takahiro’s travel. Despite the new blood in the unit – as Tetsurou called it – knowing him as the head of the laboratory, the first time he was introduced to them was as the coroner, who was the first medic to arrive at a scene with them. He had studied medicine and had plans of becoming a doctor, but life had spun him towards a different direction. One which gave him Issei Matsukawa as a comparison for the blinding medical career which he could have had.

 The dinner ended when the night outside became impenetrable and everyone was pleasantly tipsy. They said their final goodbyes and wished their final wishes to Tetsurou before standing to leave. Despite the hurry in which he was earlier, Morisuke was the last to go. There was no order to their leaves, never was, but Morisuke was always last. Even Koutarou left before him, while he stayed behind and helped put away the dishes.

 When it was time for him to take his leave, Tetsurou saw him out. They shook hands and hugged and not long after, Morisuke was already stepping into the cold dark night outside.

 He had taken the train earlier, but there were no more trains running this late at night. So Morisuke walked. He had nothing against walking. He was pleasantly warmed up from his visit and the alcohol they had drank. His mind was fuzzy and light, but not in a bad way. Morisuke felt good. He knew that Lev was waiting for him with a fever at home, but he still felt _good_.

 His hot breath turned into clouds of steam before his reddening face. The sidewalk was wet and Morisuke had to step around countless puddles. Despite the cold and time of year, there was no snow. It snowed rarely in Tokyo and the little snow which managed to gather melted quickly. If there was more snow, Morisuke imagine himself and Lev – there was not a single daydream of his in which Lev wasn’t present anymore – out in the park, building a snowman or making a snow fort and starting a snowball fight. Not a single thought of his didn’t involve Lev anymore. Ever since the cold night almost a year ago, when they had kissed under the snow.

 Morisuke felt like laughing. Joy bubbled in his stomach as he remembered their first days and then the first month. His first meeting with Lev’s sister, their first Christmas and first New Year. Weather it was the alcohol in his system or his terribly childish love, Morisuke didn’t know, but he felt so warm. He inhaled the cold night air deeply, then exhaled through his mouth, enjoying the sight of his breath vanishing in the night.

 Suddenly, the silence was interrupted by a loud slam and a quiet woman’s cry. Morisuke’s happiness vanished in seconds. Despite the fuzziness in his mind, he had enough thought to quicken his pace down the wet street towards the sores of the sound. From a civilian heading back home, Morisuke was forced to turn into the feared officer, head of the Nerima Department’s Investigation unit. The bad cop who everyone regarded with respect and who the criminals feared.

 Soon Morisuke found himself running down the street. A dark corner led towards a niche between two living buildings and when he ran into it’s shadows he was met with a chilling sight. The street lamps behind him offered enough light for him to see the outlines of a woman, leaning against the wall of the building closer to Morisuke. Her twig thin body shivered like a leaf. Her hands and face were covered with blood. Morisuke could make out a body, lying in the shadows behind the woman. He didn’t see if it was dead or alive, but judging by the blood splattered over the woman, the chances it would stand up and offer an explanation were minimal.

 When she heard the sounds of his steps, the woman looked up at him with wide, wet eyes.

 “I need help…” she hiccupped, falling to her knees. That seemed to have take Morisuke out of his shocked state and he quickly stepped closer to the woman, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to support her.

 “What happened here?” he asked her, trying in vain to gain her attention, “Are you hurt somewhere? Who hurt you?”

 “Are you a policeman?” the woman asked, her voice cracking as she looked up at Morisuke.

 He nodded, “Yes, I am. Yaku Morisuke, chief investigator of the Investigation Unit, NPD. And what’s your name? Why are you here...?”

 “Oh, thank God…” the woman muttered. She was obviously shaken by something, but Morisuke had to know what that something was and if it was related to the body lying in the middle of the street before them. “Something terrible happened, you have to help me...!”

 “First calm down, tell me your name and try explaining everything from the start.” 

 The woman took a deep breath, grabbing onto the sleeves of Morisuke’s jacket with bloody and shivering fingers.

 “Yajima…Yajima Naomi…Someone…Someone’s chasing me!”

 Before Morisuke could react, the woman – Yajima Naomi, if that was her name – grabbed his hands in one of her small and bloodied ones and pulled him down. A sharp, burning pain erupted from the back of his neck and he saw black dots dancing in front of his quickly vanishing vision. Morisuke saw the woman take out a white napkin from the pocket of her light jacket. He tried to put up a fight when she reached to press it over his mouth and nose, but someone other than the woman held him from behind in strong arms. Morisuke tried to kick and writhe in the strong hold around him, tried to hold his breath, but the alcohol in his veins slowed his movements and reactions.

 The last thing Morisuke saw before he was pushed on the wet ground unconscious was the woman’s bloody face, looking down at him. Her eyes weren’t wide and wet anymore. He couldn’t exactly give the name to the emotion which swam in her glistering brown orbs, but there definitely was _delight_ somewhere there.

 The hold behind him loosened and he was thrown on the ground, the chemical he inhaled doing the rest of the work for the pair.

**\---**

**7**

**\---**

The phone in the living room rang and Tetsurou reached towards it with a lazy movement. He picked up and raised the handle to his ear.

 “Kuroo Tetsurou speaking, you’ve reached…” he began to say before someone on the other side of the line interrupted him. Tetsurou recognized the voice.

 “ _Kuroo-san_ ,” he heard Lev say, voice odd and muffled, “ _I’m sorry if I’m bothering you_.”

 “Eii, Lev, heard you were sick? You’re not bothering me at all, are you recovering?”

 “ _I’m feeling fine, but I wanted to ask if Yaku-san was still with you_?”

 Tetsurou raised a brow and heard Lev cough through the phone. The sound of water from the kitchen stopped and Kenma walked into the living room, wiping his wet hands.

 “He left a lot ago.” he answered, “It’s past eleven Lev.”

 “ _I know, but he hasn’t come home yet_.”

 “He didn’t come with a car and there are no trains running this late, he must still be on the way.”

 “ _Yeah, but he’s not picking his phone_.” Lev erupted in another fit of coughing and Tetsurou waited for him to calm down before he continued, “ _I called him several times and he’s just not picking up. I thought he was at your place and didn’t hear_.”

 “He went home, I told you.” Tetsurou leaned back and frowned.

 “ _But he isn’t home, Kuroo-san_! _He said he’ll be back as soon as he could, I even had to make him leave and go because he was worried about my flue. For him not to be picking up when I called him so many times is just…weird_ …”

 Tetsurou felt Kenma silently step up to the couch. Lev’s words were true, especially when he knew how strict Morisuke was when carrying his phone. He always picked up, fearing it was always urgent, no matter what time of day or night it was.

 And when it came to Lev, Morisuke became even more strict.

 “How about you call him again and call me after that,” he said after a short pause, in which he listened to Lev’s heavy, raspy breathing from the other side of the line, “Tell me if he’s picked up and if not, I’ll call him. I’m almost positive it’s nothing serious. Yakkun might seem easy to beat, but he’s a little monster.”

 “ _Yeah, fine, thanks Kuroo-san_.” Lev hung up as quick as he said those words and Tetsurou was left listening to the beeping signal.

 Just as Tetsurou had advised him, Lev quickly dialed Morisuke’s number again. Having his number on speed dial was never something he thought was necessary until now. Sitting on their shared bead, surrounded by sweat soaked sheets and used tissues, Lev waited for Morisuke to finally pick up his phone, to answer him and put an end to his growing worry.

 After a minute he heard the voice of a young woman telling him that the _number he wanted to call could not be reached_ and advised him to _try later_. Lev had heard those exact words so many times tonight, hearing them again made him irritated.

 Instead of calling Tetsurou as the plan originally was, Lev dialed Morisuke again. If he didn’t pick up again, he would keep on calling until he finally reached _the number he wanted to call_.  

 He waited in silence, having turned off the TV long ago. He heard the signal go on and off – beep, beep, beep, – and suddenly, for the first time since he began calling, someone picked up.

 Overtaken by a wave of happiness, Lev completely forgot his previous worry, “Yaku-san! You finally picked up! You got both me and Kuroo-san worried! I know you don’t like me bothering you, but I couldn’t reach you so long…Where are you right now? Kuroo-san said you left his place, but you’re still not home. Are you at the store? I know I told you to get tissues, but there’s no need now, I feel better and…”

 In the middle of his rant, Lev finally realized something wasn’t right. Instead of the usual _Yaku Morisuke speaking_ , he was met with silence, broken only by steady, light breathing. It couldn’t have belonged to his superior.

 The realization made Lev frown and he gulped down the saliva in his mouth, regardless of his sore and hurting throat.

 “Yaku-san?” he asked, “Are you there…?”

 There was a sudden noise from over the line. Someone – whoever had answered Morisuke’s phone – had tried to hold in his laughter.

 “Who’s there?” Lev paraphrased his earlier question, “Who’s on the phone?”

 He was answered with another stifled fit of laughter.

 “If this is some prank, it isn’t funny.” He said in irritation, “You’re speaking to a police officer and I don’t know where you got this phone from, but it also belongs to an officer of high rank, so I warn you that it can be easily tracked and found! Who am I speaking to?”

 Another muffled laugh followed and Lev heard someone take a deep, perhaps _calming_ , breath.

 “ _I’ll see you track_ this _phone_.” An evil voice told him and Lev felt a chill take over him. It was completely different from the chills he had been getting all night due to the fever. It was one of rising terror. “ _You hear that Mr. Yaku Morisuke, chief investigator of the Investigation Unit, NPD_? _He’s going to track your phone_.”

 “Who’s this…?”

 Instead of an answer, Lev received another laugh, this time not held back at all. It was nothing but cold and hateful and Lev noticed that it belonged to a woman.

 Before he could ask anymore questions, the mysterious woman hang up and he was left listening to the signal until it too disappeared. After an initial moment of panic, Lev managed to call Tetsurou. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's chapter 2! I'm sorry for any typos i might have made, it's not my fault. Thanks for reading and I hope you read further! Comments are love so leave feedback plz!~

 THE PHONE RANG AGAIN and Tetsurou was mildly annoyed with picking up the handle and raising it to his ear. He had wanted to spend the rest of the night in peace, perhaps do a bit more after Kenma was done with washing the dishes, but as it seemed, he wasn’t getting any of the special birthday gift he had reserved for himself. 

 Lev was calling again and this time his voice had gone from worried to panicked.

 “ _Yaku-san’s with a woman_!” he said over the phone and Tetsurou had to stop and let the sudden outburst sink in his mind.

 The first thing anyone would think was that his superior had gone somewhere with a woman. It was only natural and he actually cursed his friend’s way. Could he have mistook him for someone he wasn’t all these years?

 Lev however was quick to correct him. Tetsurou’s completely rational thought was just as completely irrational. Morisuke wasn’t a ladies man by no means.

 “ _No, Kuroo-san_!” Lev called again, “ _I mean he was kidnapped_! _I called him just like you said and when I did a woman picked up and she laughed like a villain in a children’s movie and then said something directed to Yaku-san and she said his whole name and occupation and_ -“

 “Lev calm down!” it was getting hard for Tetsurou to understand him with how quickly he spoke, and his stuffed nose didn’t make his words anymore understandable. “First, talk a bit slower and try to explain everything! I know you’re worried right now, but _try_ , or else I can’t help you!”

 Tetsurou heard Lev take a deep, raspy breath – coughing once – before he began again, slow and without sparing any detail, just like he had advised him.

 “ _I called Yaku-san after I hang up_ _on you_ ,” he said through a cough, “ _The first time nothing happened and I called again, and that time someone picked up. But it wasn’t Yaku-san, it was some woman. She didn’t answer me right away and I thought it was some joke, that Yaku-san lost his phone or that someone stole it and now was playing some trick. I said that the phone can be tracked down and that we were both policemen, but the woman only laughed and told Yaku-san what I planned to do and she dared me to try tracking it. She said Yaku-san’s full name and occupation when she turned towards him_.”

 “And you think he’s kidnapped? That’s your first thought?”

 “ _What else can I think_?! _It can’t be a joke Kuroo-san_!”

 Tetsurou waited for another fit of coughs to pass and winced at how painful it sounded, leaning against the couch.

 Kenma had just walked back into the living room when Lev spoke again.

 “ _I’m really worried, Kuroo-san_ ,” he said, voice raspy, “ _I just know something happened, I_ know _it_.”

 “Lev, you know that we can’t categorize a person missing if it hasn’t been forty eight hours, right? Maybe Yakkun’s alright and going home, but he dropped his phone somewhere.”

 “ _But the woman knew him_ …”

 “I lot of people know him, Lev.” Tetsurou sighed, “He’s constantly on the news and people see his picture in newspapers at least every month. He’s the head of the investigation unit.”

 “ _The case isn’t like that now_ …” Lev whined, “ _I’m positive something’s wrong, Kuroo-san, I can’t wait_ forty eight hours!”

 Tetsurou groaned and took another deep breath. Lev might have had a point, but there was nothing any of the people in the unit could do for Morisuke. There could be a big possibility it was a joke and that Morisuke was okay. A lot of people knew his name and occupation as well. It wasn’t a problem for anyone to trick Lev without knowing their connection. But there was the other possibility of something really being wrong and as much as Tetsurou wanted to banish the though, Lev had passed a bit of his worry to him.

 Kenma asked him who was on the phone, sitting beside him on the couch. With another sigh, Tetsurou motioned for him to be quiet and finally answered Lev.

 “Let’s make a deal. I feel generous because your sick. I’ll go out now and head towards your place by the root Yakkun would have taken. I’ll try to find him along the way and I’ll keep calling him. You stay home, got it! You’re sick and shouldn’t be moving around…”

 Tetsurou hadn’t finished his sentence when Lev objected, “ _I can’t just sit here_! _I’ll get dressed and go out too_!”

 “Listen to me for once and stay home! Yakkun’s definitely okay somewhere and you’re just exaggerating!” That didn’t sound like a bad theory. In his worry, Lev might have imagined the woman’s laugh and voice all along. Tetsurou really tried to accept the idea. “I’ll go out and I’ll come all the way to your place. I’m sure I’ll find him somewhere along the way.”

 Whatever objections Lev might have had, Tetsurou hang up the phone too quickly for him to voice them.

 “Those kids will be the end of me…” he groaned and stood up. He was far too tipsy and it was way too late for such worries and problem solving.

 “What happened? Who called?” Kenma asked, looking up at him.

 Tetsurou only shook his head and headed towards the front hall of their apartment. “Lev. Yakkun hasn’t returned home and when he called him, some woman picked up. He thinks he’s kidnapped.”

 Tetsurou saw a quick flash of terror passing through Kenma’s eyes and he again shook his head. Kidnaps were something he had had enough of for years to come. It felt like every criminal in Tokyo had decided to end up on the news as a kidnapper. Was it a trend? Did criminals have such things?

 So many bad memories were related with the single word. Tetsurou would have to kill Morisuke if he ended bringing them up in such a terrific way.

 “I’ll go and search for him.” he told Kenma, pulling on his jacket. “We can’t report a person missing just like this, you know? Right now I just want to calm Lev down.”

 “I can come with you…?”

 “Nah, go to bed. I probably wont be back soon.”

 Tetsurou grabbed his keys and walked through the door.

 After walking out of the building and onto the wet street Morisuke had passed an indefinite amount of time ago, Tetsurou fished out his phone and dialed his number. He was expecting Morisuke to pick up quickly like he always did. He always kept his phone close. But this time, the only thing he listened to while walking down the street was the beeping signal. Tetsurou saw what had freaked Lev out. It wasn’t every day Morisuke Yaku left his phone ringing for any of his colleagues.

 When Tetsurou got tired of hearing the signal over and over, he dialed the number again and waited. He wasn’t met with anything more different. And while his irritation grew as he listened to the sound of the operator’s voice, his worry wasn’t far behind. It settled over him and it kept throwing doubts in his mind. It was something Tetsurou couldn’t shake off no matter how much he tried. He vaguely remembered when he was waiting in the hospital months ago, much like Lev probably did now at home. Remembered how he couldn’t contact Kenma and how he had heard a chilling voice in the place of his when the phone was finally picked up. He knew why Lev was worried, knew that no matter what they told him he would still worry. He had done it himself.

 It wasn’t some unnatural reaction. But it did feel different to be on the other side of the wall. Felt different to be the one helping someone, to be the one who had to do something. Because if Morisuke was gone from the unit, it would be Tetsurou who would have to get everything in order. And that thought actually frightened him.

 When Tetsurou called Morisuke again after another failed try to reach him, he heard ringing. It was terribly loud in the cold, still night and Tetsurou stopped, trying to detect where it was coming from. He turned and looked around, but there was no one who could have had a phone. The street was empty. The shops were closed and most of the lights were out.

 Tetsurou gulped, feeling almost sick, and ended the call. The moment he pressed the button, the ringing stopped as well. When he called again, continuing slowly and cautiously down the street, the ringing resumed. There was no doubt that it was Morisuke’s phone, but where was he?

 He saw the glowing and ringing device a few feet down the street. The sharp blue light of the display shone brightly in the alley way between two living buildings Tetsurou passed by every morning and knew ended with a dead end. The phone was dropped on the wet ground close to the sidewalk and Tetsurou’s first reaction was to reach out and take it, see if the phone really belonged to Morisuke, but the moment he leaned down to take the device, he stopped. He had to think professionally and _not_ touch a blood covered phone. Especially if it was littered with bloody finger prints.

 Taking a deep breath Tetsurou ended the call. It was obvious Morisuke wasn’t going to answer him anymore.

 For a moment after he ended the call, the alley way was lit enough for Tetsurou to see something else which chilled him to the bone. The street lights weren’t strong enough to reach the end of the alley, but the blue light of the phone was. There, on the wet ground, lay the body of a young man. He was turned with his back to Tetsurou and he couldn’t see if he was alive, but the red streaks of blood splattered across the ground and strong metallic smell in the air were enough indication for the officer. The stench was one he knew far too well.

 Automatically thinking the worst, almost feeling it in his gut, Tetsurou didn’t dare step closer to the body. He leaned on the wall, keeping away from the scene as much as he could so he wouldn’t mess up the future evidence, and with shivering fingers dialed Koutarou’s number.

 “Damn it…” he muttered to himself, while waiting for his friend to pick up. “God damn it.”

  **\---**

**2**

**\---**

  “Now this,” whistled Koutarou Bokuto as he leaned over the body in the dark alley “Is the most disturbing thing I’ve seen. _Ever_.”

 “Tell me about it.” Hajime Iwaizumi added, stepping beside him.

 They had both worked in the department for years, they had seen all kinds of bloody sights, but the one before them now was like the latest work of Ichi the killer. The body did belong to a young, unidentified man. The upper parts of his fingers were cut off so the police couldn’t recover any fingerprints. His face was completely skinned and his eyeballs dangled like cheap Christmas decoration from their sockets. There was a deep cut from his lower stomach to his ribs. His guts laid on the street beside him, completely turned to mush. Whatever murderer the unit would deal with now, he had went all out on the poor boy. Both Koutarou and Hajime only wished he was already dead before the horrific mutilations.

 “I can’t take this.” Koutarou wheezed and turned to walk out of the allay passing his working colleagues.

 Tetsurou, who had called them, was sitting on the curb of the sidewalk. He hadn’t spoken with no one so far and Koutarou decided to use his chance and make a little interrogation.

 “I seriously thought that was Yakkun for a moment…” Tetsurou said once Koutarou sat down beside him. “I almost freaked out.”

 “What’s this have to do with Yaku-kun?” Koutarou asked and Tetsurou sighed before looking up at him.

 “Lev called me earlier and said Yakkun hasn’t come home. He said he called him, but he didn’t pick up his phone. I told him to try again and call me after that and when Lev did, some woman picked up.”

 Koutarou visibly tensed, “Did you touch anything on the scene.”

 “Gods no. sure I was a bit drunk and tired, I still am, but I had enough mind not to touch the phone.”

 Koutarou urged him to continue.

 “I told Lev that I’ll go out and search for Yakkun. He didn’t come with a car so he must have gone home by foot, I thought, so I went out and kept calling him. When I got here I heard the phone ringing and…That’s all. I called you immediately after I saw the body.”

 Koutarou groaned, remembering the sight in the alley. “Good thing you didn’t see all of it.”

 “There’s nothing good in this, Bo.” Tetsurou groaned, leaning back on his hands and breathing in the cold winter air, “Yakkun’s missing and we have no way of finding him now. At first I thought that Lev was imagining all of that creepy laughing and woman’s voice and that it was just a joke, but now…”

 Suddenly he stood up, leaving Koutarou to stare at him in surprise, “I have to go tell Lev. He called me a bunch of times before you came, but I couldn’t pick up. Who knows what he’s doing right now alone…”

 Koutarou stood up and stopped him before he could get far.

 “Kuroo, you have to stay so I can write down your testimony.” He hurriedly said, “We can call Haiba from the department.”

 “I can’t wait.” Tetsurou frowned.

 “You’ll have to. You know the drill.”

 Seeing Tetsurou’s worried expression, Koutarou continued, “We’ll call him on the way. And don’t worry about Yaku-kun. Haiba told you that a woman picked up his phone, and the same phone is covered in prints. We’ll identify her quickly and we’ll get Yaku-kun back safe and sound, alright?”

 “I know all of that, Bo! But…Something tells me that it won’t be that easy. It’s never that easy…”

 “This time it will be! Because this time it’s you working on it, right Kuroo?”

 That didn’t make him feel better. It made his situation even worse. The pressure grew and suddenly Tetsurou felt like he couldn’t handle it.

 In the end he agreed with Koutarou and left with him for the department. On the way there, his friend filled him in on the state of the body.

 “The guy did a good job,” he said while driving, “We have no way of taking fingerprints and no way of knowing how he looks like.”

 “Cunning work…” muttered Tetsurou, leaning his head against the cool glass of the window beside the passenger’s seat. “It actually reminds me of something.”

 “Of what?”

 Tetsurou narrowed his eyes, as he watched the passing buildings. Colors and light blended together and it looked oddly cold and depressing.

 He sighed and leaned back against the seat. 

 “Never mind.”

 After turning down the street towards the department, Tetsurou called Lev. He had no idea what to tell him, but he had a good one of what the reaction would be. He only wished Lev wouldn’t do something stupid. Or maybe he already had.

 “ _What’s going on, Kuroo-san_?” was the first thing Lev said after picking up the phone. Tetsurou really couldn’t answer the question, be it for himself or Lev.

 “Lev, everything’s under control.” He answered, trying to sound reassuring. For both him and Lev. “I just don’t want you to worry. I have a bit of work in the department, I’ll be at your place in two hours tops.”

 “ _Tell me everything now_! _Why are you at the department_?! _What happened_?!”

 “I can’t talk long right now. Don’t move from your place, I’ll be there soon.”

 “ _But, Kuroo-san_ …”

 Tetsurou hung up. He had no time to argue with him, nor did he want to. He was already irritated and angry. He knew the protocol, but couldn’t understand why Koutarou decided to stick to it right _now_ of all times. He had no time to spare in useless conversations.

 When they arrived on their floor, they were met with their dispatcher Nametsu Mai, sitting on her desk behind Akane’s. She stood up to greet them and again sat down, while they continued down the hall. The only officers currently on shift who hadn’t gone on the scene were Fukunaga and Yamamoto. For a swift moment Tetsurou wondered what both were doing behind the closed door of the office and what they might end up interrupting, but the thought quickly left him. Normally he would have laughed along with Koutarou, but the current time wasn’t one to laugh at.

 They found their two colleagues leading a one-sided conversation, separated by Fukunaga’s desk. Koutarou explained the situation to Yamamoto, while Fukunaga worked on writing down Tetsurou’s testimony. The process was long and the mere thought of how much time they were wasting irritated Tetsurou further. First a dead body, now Morisuke was missing. From then on there were two possibilities. First, Morisuke was alive and kept hostage by an unknown woman. And second…Tetsurou preferred not to think about it.

 “Sign.” Fukunaga softly told him, slipping the paper with his testimony over the desk to him. Tetsurou sighed and signed it, his signature turning sloppy as his fingers shook over the pen.

 “Bo, I’m heading out to Lev.” He told his colleague, standing up from the chair he had been sitting on. “I want movement on the case and results from the fingerprints on Yakkun’s phone. I want everything to happen _tonight_. It’s this floor’s top priority.” He turned to Fukunaga and Yamamoto, “You guys get to work too. The guys from the scene are gonna bring in everything they can get and Shibayama’s going to give you footage. I want everything inspected and examined to the last detail. All results on my desk as soon as they’re out.”

 Yamamoto gave him a short salute and stood up, “On it captain.”

 “I’ll go with you to Haiba’s.” Koutarou told him when both walked out of the office and headed down the hall. “Or if you want I’ll go alone, there’s no need for you to…”

 “I’m going.” Tetsurou said, “Alone. I’ll talk the kid out of any plans he might be making. You have to stay here and lead the case.”

 “You know we can’t report Yaku-kun missing in less than…”

 “I know that. I was talking about the murder. Who ever took Yakkun, for what ever reason, killed that boy. Once the evidence from the scene comes in with the phone, take it down to…Who’s on shift in the laboratory while Makki’s gone?”

 “There’s no one there right now, but don’t think about it. I’ll take down the prints myself and look up the results in the database.”

 “Get to it and be quick. I have a very bad feeling about this…”

**\---**

**3**

**\---**

By the time Tetsurou parked the car in front of Lev and Morisuke’s building, he had made an entire speech for Lev. He had planned every word. He would tell him that Morisuke was gone, but they would find him very soon. That they had fingerprints to work with. He would tell him that he knew what it was to sit and wait while a dear person was nowhere to be found and you don’t even know if he’s alive or dead, but he would have to endure it. Lev had to know that the entire unit worked on finding their chief and not just the unit, but the whole _department_ of Nerima. And unlike Tetsurou, Lev could do something about it too.

 Tetsurou had made a whole speech, he had thought everything to the last period. Now all he needed was the strength to look Lev in the eye and tell him all of what he had planned to say.

 Lev looked terrible to say the least, when he opened the door for Tetsurou. And it was clear that it wasn’t just the runny nose and sore throat that was his problem.

 “Kuroo-san I waited for you and I refrained from calling you or the department,” Lev said while Tetsurou took of his shoes, “But you’re going to have to tell me everything right now! What happened?! Where’s Mh…Yaku-san?!”

 Tetsurou could only sigh, “You’re gonna have to sit down for the story.”

 He told Lev everything, while sitting in the arm chair in front of the couch where he sat. It wasn’t like he had imagined it. He missed out almost half of the already planned speech and his voice sounded a lot quieter than it did in his mind while driving. He even lacked the confidence to tell Lev that everything will be fine and that they would find Morisuke as soon as they could. Lev didn’t seem like he noticed. He only sat down and listened to him in silence, while occasionally brushing his nose or giving a quiet cough.

 “All I want from you is to keep your cool.” Tetsurou told him, “I know it sounds silly and you want to go out and do the work yourself, but you gotta have just a little fate in us. We’ll bring Yakkun back. Work with us and don’t cause any trouble.”

 Lev shook his head and took a deep breath through his mouth.

 “Was it the same?” he asked, looking at Tetsurou with reddened eyes, “Was it the same for you when Kenma-san went missing? Surely it can’t be this easy to just…to just stay _calm_. And stay back and do nothing. It’s not _that_ easy. I don’t even…I don’t even know if Yaku-san’s dead or alive! And you want me to just stay back and trust you! I _can’t_ trust you right now, Kuroo-san, I _can’t_ …!”

 Whatever he was feeling right now, Tetsurou knew it. He had experienced it. But what kind of comfort could he give Lev? Was there any comfort anyone could give without it seeming offending and frustrating?

 “It’ll take a bit longer,” he said eventually, “It’ll take a bit longer, but there _will_ be results. Because it’s not just Yakkun’s disappearance on our hands. We also have a murderer.”

 “And Yaku-san’s with him! Kuroo-san with all due respect, but you have no right to tell me to calm down and trust you! You know what it’s like, right? You know how stupid it sounds when someone tells you to relax and let them do the work when the life of someone important to you is on the line!”

 “I know, but…”

 “Then why?! Why are you here and telling me all of this when we could be working on finding Yaku-san?!”

 “Because it’s not like last time, Lev!”

 Tetsurou buried his face in his palms and took a moment to calm him self. The only thing similar in this case was Lev’s reaction. Unlike the time Kenma had gone missing a year ago, this time they had no trace or a possible suspect. They had only a bunch of finger prints, which might prove completely useless. They had no motive and no clues. They had not a single trace.

 He said all of that to Lev. “We have no evidence now, Lev… _That’s_ different. Last time we were in the middle of an investigation, we had a suspect, we had numerous clues to piece together and a track to follow. And all we have now is a dead, mutilated body and a bunch of prints which might not even be in the database. What do you want me to tell you? Instead of me pissing you off by telling you lies like ‘ _Yakkun’s fine and he’ll turn up by tomorrow_ ’, do you rather have me telling you the truth? Fine then. Do you know what I think right now? I think that while you sit here and whine, someone might be throwing Yakkun’s dead body in a ditch outside of Kanto. That’s the greatest possibility and you won’t be able to do anything about it. Because it’s not up to you or us. It’s up to a murderer with psychopathic tendencies who we can’t track down. And don’t even bother telling me that while Kenma was gone and you kept telling me that you’ll find him you didn’t think he was somewhere dead, because that would be a blatant lie! Get a grip Haiba and brush your snotty nose! I had enough bullshit for a night and I can’t effort being your nanny too!”

 His outburst might have startled Lev. And that was good. If someone had said everything straight in Tetsurou’s face while Kenma was gone and dying, tied in some dirty garage with the rats, he might have gotten his wits together and done something more about it than sit and whine.

 And there was also something else in his case that made it different from Lev’s.

 “Not to mention that unlike me,” continued Tetsurou with the same tone of voice, “You aren’t strapped to a hospital bed with two stitched shot wounds that could bleed out with every little movement and unlike me, you can go out there and get you’re _Yaku-san_ back without feeling guilty for having sat back after he returns.”

 There was a strained moment of silence in which Tetsurou had no idea what else he could say. It felt like he had run out of words. He had spoken his mind and it was up to Lev to make a decision for himself.

 After another silent moment went by without Lev answering, Tetsurou finally stood up.

 “Come on.” He told Lev, stepping in front of him. “We’re going.”

 Lev looked up at him and blinked, “Where?”

 “You want to do something? Then come on. Get dressed, because I’m giving you the work you want and obviously need. And remember that until Yakkun comes back, you’re in my hands and answer to me. Understood?”

 Lev took a minute to process his words, but once they sank in, he quickly nodded and stood up from the vanilla colored leather couch. He had done a good job, Tetsurou thought, by raising his voice and telling Lev the cold truth. It was a good way to motivate any person, not just a cop with too much to lose. He had learned it from his own superiors and it definitely was a good method.

 While Lev dressed, completely forgetting about his lingering fever and headache, Tetsurou worked in their kitchen. He made a lot of coffee, without sugar, and left it in a thermos to take to the department. He checked the time and deeming it early enough, called Kenma. As he expected, his little boyfriend was still up and fresh, while the only thing Tetsurou wished was to dive in the sheets of his bed and bury his head under the pillows. He told Kenma about his most recent case, dropping out the fact that Morisuke was missing, and told him to go to bed no later than one. He didn’t have to tell him that he won’t be coming back home for Kenma to get the idea and wish him good night before hanging up first.

 By the time his talk with Kenma was over, Lev was ready to go. They got in the police car Tetsurou had borrowed and left for the department.

**\---**

**4**

**\---**

  Koutarou took out the phone from the plastic bag it was put in by his colleagues and left it on the metal table before him. He worked carefully, with thin plastic gloves, as to not damage the bloody fingerprints. He took the small brush from the kit on the table and dipped it in the small round box of grayish powder beside him. The blood seemed dried enough to not smear against the phone by the light hairs of the brush, so Koutarou proceeded with taking the prints.

 He was alone in the laboratory, which was normally reserved as Takahiro Hanamaki’s workplace. But since he was out of town and they lacked any other help, Koutarou had nothing against doing a bit of dirty work. He rolled up the sleeves of the white medical apron more securely over his elbows and leaned over the bloodied device, gently spinning the handle of the brush between his thumb and pointer finger and making the light hairs dance over its surface. They spread the powder between the crusted streaks of blood and by the time Koutarou was done he could see the perfect outlines of a thumb across the display of the phone.

 Grinning proudly to himself he took a piece of transparent tape from the same kit he had taken the brush and powder. He gently separated the two parts of the tape and carefully stuck one over the phone. He slicked it down with a finger before pulling it up and again sticking the two parts of the tape together, trapping the grayish print of a thumb between them. Koutarou hoped it was the print of their murderer and Morisuke’s possible kidnapper.  

 After the gentle work was done, Koutarou decided to see if there were any matches of the print in their database. Unlike the bases in the American serials like CSI, the Japanese system held less results due to the little crime occurring. Koutarou didn’t know if he would get anywhere with the print, especially if it belonged to a new homicidal maniac who roamed the streets, but he hoped he would. He scanned the fingerprint and loaded it up in the system to search for matches. After that all he could do was lean back in Takahiro’s chair and wait until anything came up. And God, did he have to wait.

 As a person of action, Koutarou had trouble sitting in front of the computer in the sterile, cold laboratory. Surely enough he began to feel watched, with no one around him. He had no idea how Takahiro spent his whole day behind the little desk in the front of the laboratory. Maybe it was the promise of possible visits by Matsukawa that kept him in place. But unlike him, Koutarou had little to no motivation to do the same.

 A little over fifteen minutes later, the monitor of the computer flashed green. There was finally a found match.

 Koutarou printed the page, taking off the medical apron he had on while the printer did its magic, and once it was out, he ran up stairs to the floor of the unit. To his luck, he found Tetsurou and Lev already there.

 “There was a match.” he told them, giving Tetsurou the page with the results he had printed, “The prints belong to Kurashiki Makoto. Supposedly thirty five eyes old and living in Setagaya. But there’s a little oddity that bothers me about her entire profile…”

 Tetsurou noticed the little _oddity_ instantly, “It says that Kurashiki Makoto died in under doubtful circumstances two years ago…”

 “But then whose are the prints on Yaku-san’s phone if she’s dead?” asked Lev, leaning over Tetsurou’s shoulder to look at the printed paper, “Surely she’s not a zombie is she?”

 “It’s way past Halloween for this…” groaned Tetsurou.

 “I have a feeling that Halloween’s just starting for us.” Koutarou sighed, “I got a call from the coroner, Sakunami. He said he’s about finished with the body and wants someone to pass by the morgue.”

 “Lev and I are going, I want him to see the body and give us thoughts.” Tetsurou didn’t have to look up at Lev for his approval. For a long while Lev would be down with everything he said. “Did the evidence from the scene come in?”

 Koutarou nodded. “Fukunaga and Inuoka are doing the work. But they’ll surely get something that would need to be analyzed in the laboratory and who’ll do the work? I’m not _that_ capable.”

 “Makki’s coming back tomorrow, we won’t need any results for now. Let’s just work on identifying the victim and find this Kurashiki, because there’s no way she’s dead if she’s been on that scene.”

 Orders given, Tetsurou left Koutarou in the department and left for the morgue with Lev.

 There was once a time where they had been used to seeing Hanamaki towering over any corpse in the chilly morgue, but today the one doing the job for him was the young medic Kousuke Sakunami. It wasn’t like he didn’t understand of his work; he did it with practiced ease even. He was the only fresh thing in the morgue and the only person who managed to function this late without coffee. So it was no surprise for Tetsurou when he saw him waiting for them patiently at his work place.

 The morgue was a sterile room, cold to preserve the latest patients of Dr. Sakunami. In this case the latest _patient_. The young doctor looked like he had hit the jackpot and Tetsurou wondered how he could look at the skinned face of the victim without flinching. Beside him, Lev cringed once they were close enough to the body, lying over a shined metal table.  Tetsurou could only shudder. He hadn’t seen the body up close so far. It was definitely something he didn’t want to see again. Dr. Sakunami had cleaned it and had taken out his ruined intestines, continuing the cut from the victim’s stomach up to his chest to see the state of his lungs. Its eyes stared towards the ceiling, completely sinking back in their sockets. The image burned in Tetsurou’s mind, as if it was there to stay.

 “The cause of death is food poisoning!” exclaimed Sakunami, leaning over the victim.

 Tetsurou raised a brow, “Food poisoning?”

 “Yes! Food poisoning!”

 “Not the cut in his stomach and not the skinned face? Not even blood loss?”

 “Nope! I understand it seems stupid, considering what we have on our hands, but that is unmistakably the cause of death. It was hard for me to recover…most of his stomach, but it was in fairly good shape. It still had bits of undigested food, something I categorize as herring or mackerel.”

 Tetsurou’s mouth watered at the word. He would do anything now to go home and reheat the mackerel from dinner. Not even thinking that someone had just died from it could change his mind. Or that of his stomach.

 Tetsurou looked at the body again, with great effort. “Did you do the…make up?”

 He motioned towards his own eyes and Sakunami quickly understood. He had gently placed the eyeballs of the corpse back in their sockets, but the effect was minimal on the skinned face of the body.

 The doctor laughed sheepishly, “Actually, I didn’t plan to set them back, but they kept distracting me.”

 “And what’s the time of death?” Lev asked, turning to face Sakunami, though his look did linger longer on the body.

 “The corpse was still fairly fresh.” Sakunami answered, “He was in no state of decomposition and there was no mortis. I can only say that the murder, with all the skinning and cutting off fingers, had happened not long after eight. Half an hour maybe.”

 “What is he poisoned with?”

 “I still don’t know. I’ve sent samples to the laboratory for analysis, but they won’t be out soon.”

 “Well…” Tetsurou sighed, “Then we have to find out who this guy is.”

 “I don’t know how smart and brutal your murderer is,” started Sakunami with a slowly spreading prideful grin, “But he seems to have destroyed all ways of recognizing this person. But his teeth are still there. And _everyone_ has been to the dentist at least _once_ in their life, judging by the state of _his_ , he has been a frequent visitor. It’s similar to the fingerprints. If I look up his teeth in the database, I can find who they actually belong too. Smart huh?”

 Lev seemed amused, “Very good idea, Sakunami-san!”

 “It’s a lead.” Added Tetsurou, with a lot less enthusiasm, “Whoever this person is, he has been with the murderer. Perhaps they were close so that she could manipulate his food without him noticing.”

 Sakunami looked at them. “ _She_?”

 “Long story. Okay, if there’s anything more, call us. Lev, let’s go. We have to help at the department.”

 They left Sakunami’s morgue and headed back to their car. Checking the time again on his brand new Rolex, Tetsurou saw it was already past one. There was still so much to do this night and he wasn’t sure he could keep up anymore.

 Once they were back in the car, Tetsurou took the thermos with the sugarless coffee he’d made and gave it to Lev.

 “If the cause of death is food poisoning,” he said while Lev drank, “That means that the victim and whoever got Yakkun were close, probably in a relationship. They’ve either went on a dinner or most likely the victim was invited in her home for dinner, considering the time of death.”

 “So he was thrown out in the alley?” Lev questioned, passing the thermos to Tetsurou, who took a generous swing of the bitter coffee.

 “I suggest that the victim passed out and eventually died and our murderer followed him after he left her home. She dragged him in the allay and had her fun.”

 “But why? It was already clear he was dead, then why did she have to…?”

 “Not all murderers function the same, Lev. Some of them cut up their victims in their homes or in deserted areas others kill them quickly and have their fun later, like in this case. You’ve been with us for about a year and maybe a bit more. That’s really not enough to get a good grip on the job.”

 Lev didn’t answer. He took the thermos again and even though the bitterness of the coffee wasn’t a taste he enjoyed, he drank in big gulps. He would have to stay awake and keep up with his cold and so the coffee had to be strong.

 “I had a thought earlier,” Tetsurou says again, looking at his watch, “All of this brought back a bunch of memories and I thought about it. But then I remembered that the murderer is behind bars and forgot it.”

 Lev looked at him, “You think the series from a year ago and now are related? But Daishou’s in prison right? He’s being trialed for the murder of Shirofuku-san this month.”

 Tetsurou nodded, “That’s exactly the reason I didn’t go with my theory. And _then_ I thought what if it wasn’t that rat who killed those people? It doesn’t add up. Forget his business with me and kidnapping Kenma. While the first murders of the series came up, he was still working in the department. And we couldn’t convict him of them while the process went on. There’s nothing linking him to Hanaoka and the other victim, not to mention the kindergarten murder. Give it a thought.”

 “So you’re saying…” Lev slowly began, trying to tie the facts together, “That the murderer from a year ago isn’t Daishou, and that whoever it was is back now? That we have the same person on our hands and that person is a woman with the name Kurashiki, who died under doubtful circumstances?”

 “A lot of thought was put into this.” Tetsurou said instead of answering, “A lot of _unnecessary_ thought. And I don’t know if you remember, but so far all the victims of the case a year ago were mutilated beyond recognition. Either that or their fingers had been scrubbed smooth or chopped off, like in this case. I think we might be hunting the same guy right now, but with Daishou in prison…I don’t know what to think.”

 Checking the time again, as if it was becoming a habit, Tetsurou leaned back in his seat with a sigh, before starting the car. It was time they went back to the department to see how their case was going. 

**\---**

**5**

**\---**

 Shouhei Fukunaga was a silent worker, but a lot more concentrated than Koutarou in the quiet environment. He didn’t seem like he gave what he did much of a thought, like he was used completely to his work and could do it with his eyes closed. Unlike him, Inuoka’s work was hurried. Professional but quick. He didn’t tolerate mistakes and made none while he took prints and analyzed the victim’s clothes, but in the same time he looked like he gave every little move of his the thought Fukunaga didn’t. Weather that made his job easier Koutarou didn’t know, but didn’t try to change it either. Both his colleagues were professionals and while they didn’t make any serious mistakes, Koutarou had no right to mess in their way of work.

 “There’s something on the victim’s shirt…” Inuoka said, his words sounding too loud in the room they were working in, hunched over the large table where the various clues from the scene were laid out. “It’s crusted.”

 “Cut a piece out and save it for the lab.” Koutarou instructed and Inuoka nodded, getting to work.

 While he did, Fukunaga raised one of the plastic bags and showed it to Koutarou, motioning for him to come closer. Koutarou did, walking past Inuoka and taking the little bag from his other colleague. To his surprise, in the confines of the bag lay a torn piece of paper, not big in diameter, but clean and straight. It looked like it was torn out of a brand new copy of a book. Koutarou could see a page number on the edge of the paper.

 “Where was this found?” he asked and Inuoka lifted his head to answer.

 “It was in the back pocket of his jeans.”

 Koutarou opened the bag and took out the paper, carefully lying it on the table before him. There was nothing else on it aside from the number of the page of the unknown book. Page 15. Whatever symbolism hid behind the number, Koutarou really didn’t have enough mind to find its meaning.

 By the time Tetsurou returned with Lev, the bag with the paper was again lost amongst all the other bags with evidence. Once everything was looked through, Fukunaga sat down to document their evidence. The others had no more than an hour rest, before they got a call from Iwaizumi.

 “ _I got something on that Kurashiki woman_.” He told them over the phone. It was obvious he was driving, regardless of the law, “ _I looked up her name and it turns out that there are only two such people born in Setagaya. The one in the database who died under doubtful circumstances and a newspaper correspondent. I called at her workplace and they told me that she left early yesterday to get ready for a dinner_.”

 “That’s her.” Tetsurou said, turning to Koutarou, “Sakunami said the victim died of food poisoning before he was skinned and gutted.”

 “ _It’s really late and I doubt I can get more information on weather they knew each other, but I can try speaking with her boss in the morning._ ”

 “So we can just wait for now?” Lev asked, stepping closer to the desk where Tetsurou and Koutarou sat, wiping his stuffed nose, “We can’t send the samples to the laboratory and we can’t talk with any witnesses?”

 Tetsurou nodded. “I’m afraid this is all we can do for now. Everything else will have to wait until tomorrow. Or at least till sunrise…”

 “ _I don’t know about you guys,_ ” continued Iwaizumi over the phone, “ _But I have the strange feeling we’re hunting down not a woman with the same name as one dead, but the a cunning identity mugger._ ”

 Koutarou raised a brow, “Yeah? And how would that work?”

 “That has a lot of logic actually.” Tetsurou said, rubbing his chin in thought, “We’ll have to look through the registers, but imagine that we find one Kurashiki Makoto in it. Then where’s the other one? I think this murder might be part of a conspiracy. A very well made out conspiracy.”

 “I think I get it,” with a short nod said Lev and again brushed his reddening nose, “The woman we’re going after now might have killed the original Kurashiki-san and taken her identity. But then again, how could there be such a big fingerprint match? Surely they can’t have the same prints…”

 “Her personal documents and passport would be still usable if Kurashiki died two years ago.” Tetsurou noted, “The imposter wouldn’t have a problem finding a job under the name, all she has to do is change the picture on the documents and that’s an easy job for any professional.”

 “If the resemblance between them is big she doesn’t even have to do that.” Chimed in Koutarou. “But forget the documents, Haiba’s right. That doesn’t explain the fingerprint match.”

 “ _That’s just my theory,_ ” said Iwaizumi, “ _And I can’t give you anymore information until morning. But it’s a good lead._ ”

 “Thanks Iwa. We’ll take a break and talk to you tomorrow.”

 Tetsurou hung up and left down the phone handle. “We still have nothing.”

 “That can’t be possible…” Lev groaned, “We _can’t_ have nothing. Kuroo-san, you gotta do something. This isn’t possible…”

 “Everything I can do, I can do tomorrow.” Tetsurou sighed and sat down on the chair behind the desk. “It’s almost four in the morning…You guys should go home.”

 “And what are you gonna do?” Koutarou asked.

 “I’m going to stay a bit more. Gonna help out with ordering the evidence.”

 “I’m going to stay here too.” Said Lev, “There’s gonna be something else we can do to get to Yaku-san.”

 “There’s nothing we can do now. And you’re sick. You gotta rest up so you can work properly. Yakkun’s going to kill me if he sees you still sick when he comes back…”

 “But I have to be here so he _can_ come back!”

 Tetsurou sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with a groan. He felt like he had aged with years in a single night and it was all Lev’s fault.

 “Look, there’s _something_ I can do. But you have to promise me to go home and sleep a bit so I can do it. Do we have a deal?”

 Lev frowned, “This deal doesn’t sound very good to me…”

 “To me too.” Koutarou raised a brow and looked at his friend, “What’s this all about?”

 “I’ll tell you tomorrow.” Tetsurou turned to Lev. “Can you take chances right now? It’s a good deal from wherever you look at it. Just go home and trust me. Bo’ll drive you home, right bro?”

 “As long as he agrees…”

 Lev was hesitant for a moment, but a look at his superiors showed that they were completely serious. He bit the inside of his cheek and nodded.

 “I’ll go.” He said, “But you have to promise me to tell me everything tomorrow! I’m holding you to your word, Kuroo-san!”

 Tetsurou rolled his eyes. “Cut the fancy language and just go home already!”

 After Koutarou and Lev were on their way home, Tetsurou ordered a cup of coffee – no sugar – from Nametsu and took out his cell. He had a few calls to run tonight, before settling down.

**\---**

**6**

**\---**

 Her high heels clacked against the tiled floor of the hall as she walked down the row of cells. Officer Nakajima walked ahead of her. The wing was a loud one. Especially if a woman was on visit. Nakajima had instructed her to walk in the middle of the path, to protect her self from the grabby hands. That still didn’t protect her from the howls and whistles of the inmates however. As a defending lawyer, Mika had spent a lot of time in prison, talking with her clients. It was not a good place, but she had a job she had to do and goals to reach.

 Her current worry revolved around Suguru Daishou, not just some client who paid her, or her superior in the agency, but her fiancée of all things. And aside all of that, he was a convicted criminal and now spend his days in this dirty place. Definitely not fitted for a man like him. While long ago Mika had organized his defense and managed to lower his verdict to the complete minimal, this month he would be trialed for the murder of NPD secretary Yukie Shirofuku. And while in Japan there wasn’t much crime, the death sentence was still in order. All the odds were against her and against Suguru and Mika had to think fast if she didn’t want her fiancée to be either hung or spend the rest of his life in prison. Something told Mika that this time the judge would put an end to the case and the outcome was up to her.

 But what Mika had on her side was Suguru’s dirty tricks and sweet smiles. That was the thing that made him superior to her as a defending attorney. He knew how to get the jury on his side and manipulate any witness the offending side called in. He got under their skin and destroyed them from the inside and while that should have scared Mika, it inspired her. To look at such a man and see him behind bars wearing nothing but orange made Mika’s eyes tear up.

 While a year had passed and she should have been used to his absence, Mika still felt guilty for letting Suguru go to jail. She should have tried harder, worked more than she had. But all she could do now was protected him from being convicted of murder. If that happened, she would have to forget about him. And while she worried and worked, Suguru always seemed so calm about his entire situation. Every time Mika stepped in the little room reserved for meetings between attorneys and their clients, he looked bored and almost annoyed to talk with her. Weather that was something he was truly feeling or another game to look tough in front of her was something Mika couldn’t tell. She hoped it was neither. She wanted Suguru to be vulnerable in front of her. In front of _only_ her. She wanted to be that one person who Suguru trusted and before who he could be his true self. That was something Mika wished to see.

 Suguru was already waiting for her, looking as passive as ever, when officer Nakajima led her in the room and closed the door behind her. He leaned back against his chair and sighed once she sat on hers, on the other side of the table.

 “Hi, Suguru.” Mika softly greeted and Suguru nodded.

 “I won’t lie if I say I’m happy, but not really in the mood, to see you.” Was the way he answered, leaning over the table, “If it’s something about the trial, I told you that I pledge guilty.”

 “Yes, I’m here to make you change you’re mind. The charge is _murder_ Suguru; they’ll give you a life sentence at best!”

 Suguru rolled his eyes. “I already told you, you don’t have to concern yourself. Everything will be just fine…”

 “But…”

 “Shush! Listen here Mika-chan, I got everything covered,” Suguru shushed her again before she could object. “Have you ever thought that I have a backup plan? Why I’m always so calm? You should try doing that too, unless you want permanent wrinkles at thirty. Truth is that I have a deal.”

 Mika narrowed her eyes. “With who? Suguru, if it’s something with Sakusa, you know what…”

 “Stop interrupting me! I have everything planned, so don’t be a hindrance.”

 “I don’t want to…”

 “Sakusa will cover everything. I’m his attorney after all; he can’t have me in jail. Not to mention that I did way too much for him…”

 “But you still owe him money. He almost got you killed, that’s why I want you to take things seriously and not trust him so much.”

 Suguru reached to cover her hands with his and gave them a light, comforting squeeze.

 “I’m not going to stay here forever.” He said, a sly smile slowly spreading over his face. That very smile had to tell Mika that his plan wouldn’t be any good, but at the time, it made her trust him. Like so many times before. “I have a special plan with Sakusa. One that doesn’t involve drugs or money. And the outcome of which will be good for both parties. Do you trust me on this, Mika-chan?”

 Mika didn’t want to. Suguru had done way too much for her to trust him now. But aside from being his fiancée, she was his lawyer. His only defense in court. And he was most of all a lawyer of higher caliber. He certainly knew what he was doing by pledging guilty, even if it made Mika worried and even if the odds that he truly will be convicted were greater than the opposite, Suguru definitely knew what he was doing. And Mika could only trust him and do what he said.

 “I trust you…” she finally said, looking up from their joined hands to Suguru, “But you have to tell me what this plan is. If it’s something like last time…”

 Mika didn’t dare continue. The glint in Suguru’s eyes said everything.


	3. Right Numbers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter I post of this fic until November. I'm sad to say it, but I need some time to gather my thoughts on, plus, I don't think it got too popular, so I don't think many will miss it. Thanks for reading and see you in November!

  _IF NEKOMATA OR UKAI come around, tell them I’m out regarding the case,”_ Tetsurou told him over the phone, as Koutarou dozed off behind his desk beside the window. Iwaizumi was the only other in the office, filling out the report about the murder from the night. Matsukawa had gone somewhere a bit after Tetsurou left and still hadn’t come back. “ _Same goes with Naoi. If any of them come around, just tell them that._ ”

 Koutarou openly yawned and leaned back in his seat, “And what do I tell them about Yaku-kun?”

 “ _Tell them he’s with me. We’ll report him missing tomorrow. It’s not like any of them won’t order a search as it is but…Let’s just lay low for a while. Everything will go out tomorrow._ ”

 “What about the press?”                     

 “ _Tomorrow. By the way…How’s Lev?”_

 “When I left him at his place earlier, he was running a fever…I made him check it out and it was pretty high. I was really sorry for him actually, but he said he was fine and made me leave. Speaking of him, you told Haiba something earlier…About doing something,” Koutarou scratched the back of his neck, “Are you out because of that? You didn’t tell me anything! What’s the plan?”

 “ _I’m going to talk with someone who just might help in tracking down Kurashiki. But it’s not certain he will._ ”

 Koutarou frowned and spun his chair towards the window, “Bro…Are you going to talk with an informant…?”

 “ _Someone like that._ ”

 “Who?!”

 “ _I don’t think you know him. Don’t tell anyone! This isn’t the most legal thing I can be doing._ ”

 “I won’t bro, but…Be careful there.”

 “ _You know what to tell the chiefs. I doubt Ukai will sniff around, but either Nekomata or Naoi_ will _come. Just tell them-_ “

 “Talking about the wolf!”

 Koutarou spun on his chair the moment he heard the door opening and saw the reflection of his superior in the window before him and stood up. Iwaizumi left his report and did the same. Tetsurou hadn’t yet finished his sentence when in the office of the unit walked their superior Nekomata. A man of age but still more fitted for the job and with a mind sharper than any of theirs. He was the first person under whose supervision their current squad worked when it was first formed and everyone had good memories with him. They had seen many faces of his, but the one of disappointment which he had now wasn’t their favorite.

 “You had a murder case on your hands and no one decides it’s necessary to tell your superiors?” Nekomata said, closing the door behind him.

 “It happened last night.” Iwaizumi explained, “I was just finishing the report.”

 “Nekomata-san, there’s no need to be mad,” Koutarou chimed in, hanging up on Tetsurou. “We do have a murder on our hands, but we could do almost nothing last night. We have some pretty leads, but nothing more and we have no idea how to proceed.”

 He actually did, but in front of Nekomata they had to act like they had no idea about Morisuke’s disappearance, like they didn’t know about the creepy conversation of Lev’s over the phone and Kurashiki Makoto. Iwaizumi, having noticed his lie, looked at him with a raised brow, but didn’t make a move to correct him.

 “And where are Yaku and Kuroo?” their superior asked next, looking at Koutarou with suspicion, “I want them in my office with the report.”

 “They’re not here.” Iwaizumi said instead of Koutarou, taking the words right out of his mouth, “They went out to interrogate some witnesses.”

 Nekomata didn’t look like he believed them and that worried Koutarou. He wasn’t the best of liars, especially when standing in front of a superior, but Iwaizumi’s act did the trick and Nekomata finally looked more at ease.

 “I’m waiting for them in my office when they get back.” He told them, “Iwaizumi-kun, I want the report as quick as it’s done.”

 Matsukawa was just ready to walk in the office when Nekomata walked out. They exchanged greetings and just like that, their superior was off down the hall. Koutarou finally sat down again, letting out a relieved sigh.

 “You saved me there, Iwaizumi…”

 “You’ll have to tell me what to write in the report; because this right now isn’t something I can give Nekomata.” Iwaizumi shook his head, sitting back down in front of his computer, “You’ll have to tell me what this entire lie has to do with it too.”

 Koutarou sighed again, “With all due time…”

 “Where were _you_ anyway?” Iwaizumi asked Matsukawa.  
 “You guys won’t believe what I got my hands on.” Their colleague said, lifting up the folder he held in hand. “A week ago there was a dead body found drifting around the harbor in Koto. The time of death is categorized as a little bit under a year ago. The body’s in an end state of decomposition, but according to the medical report the ends of the fingers are chopped off with a sharp object. The reason of death is drowning, but numerous small stab wounds have been found over her thighs and back. I have no idea how they did it, but according to the Koto PD the body belongs to Sakaguchi Rie. The woman’s had a long history of prostitution and possible connections to Sakusa Trading Inc.” 

 “Why does every whore have history with Sakusa?” Koutarou rhetorically asked, sighing deeply. There wasn’t any need for answers. He already knew all of them. He had worked years to bring down Sakusa and his fake business down, but so far, the weasel always slipped.

 “Forget about him,” Iwaizumi said, looking at Matsukawa, “There’s obvious resemblance between these two cases. Chopped off fingers and stab wounds…”

 “Apparently, the KPD think that there’s a link between this case and the murders we investigated last year.” Matsukawa continued, “I think that it will be good if we somehow manage to prove the connection to Sakusa Inc. for all the victims and put everything in one series. KPD want me to work on the case with them, since I’m familiar with the murders from a year ago. Speaking of that, I didn’t see Akane. I need her to get me the reports from those cases so I can bring them with me to Koto.”

 “I gave her a day off…” Koutarou sheepishly said.

 Matsukawa raised a brow, “Why?”

 “So she can get ready. She’s leaving this Monday and its Saturday already…”

 “So? Last time I checked it was a work day. And where’s she leaving?”

 “Well…”

 “Didn’t you know?” Iwaizumi raised a brow, looking at Matsukawa.

 “Know what?”

 “Akane’s accepted in the police academy. Lesson’s start Monday and by then she has to be settled in the dorm.”

 Matsukawa smiled slowly in surprise, “You don’t say?! Now way! Little Yamamoto’s becoming a policeman?”

 “An investigator.” Koutarou corrected. “She’s been studying with Kuroo the whole month before the exam. She said she passed with blinding records!”

 “Something I didn’t do.”  Matsukawa said with a grin, remembering his own academy times. “So she’s getting ready for _this_?”

 “If you ask me,” offhandedly said Iwaizumi, “She’s more ready as it is. She’ll be great.”

 “I can’t wait to work with her now.”

 “By the way,” began Koutarou, changing the subject “You should wait until Iwaizumi gets the report about this case done and give it to the KPD. I think it’ll be of help. And leave a copy of their report here so we can work with it too.”

 “Sure will.” Said Matsukawa, “I just gotta look up the records of the murders from last years in the storage, if Akane’s not here. By the way, where’s _Kuroo_? Or did he get a day off too?”

 Koutarou shook his head. “He’s out looking for traces on Kurashiki…By the way, Iwaizumi! Do you have her record? Look her up, please, I just thought of something.”

 Iwaizumi raised a brow in question, but did as he was told. “Okay.”

 Koutarou stood up from his desk and walked closer to Iwaizumi’s. Matsukawa also joined. With a few quick movements of his fingers, Iwaizumi had Makoto Kurashiki’s profile in the database opened.

 Koutarou grinned, “I had a hunch that was it.”

 “Sakaguchi had a history as a prostitute,” Matsukawa began, reading through her record, “And this Kurashiki did too. That’s how she ended up in the database.”

 “And if our doubts about the murderer being a smug identity thief turn up true,” Iwaizumi added, “Then before being Kurashiki Makoto, she might have been Sakaguchi Rie.”

 “But how does she do that thing with the fingerprints…?” Koutarou frowned, “If Kurashiki Makoto’s dead, then how did the murderer bring up her fingerprints. Is this some lucky match…?”

 “If I can get something on it from the KPD, I’ll send it here.” Matsukawa promised, standing up straight and heading towards his desk.

 Iwaizumi looked at his colleague, “And when do you have to leave?”

 “Now, actually. I want to finish work there and be back to get Hiro from the station.”

 “Tell Hanamaki we need him!” Koutarou lightly ordered, “We can’t seem to do anything without him here!”

 “If you think that he would have gotten up at one in the morning to come and work then you know a different side of him that I would like to live with…”

 Iwaizumi printed his actual report from their current case and once he gave it to Matsukawa, he was off. Koutarou and he were again alone and the later used it to his advantage.

 “So,” he started, leaning back in his chair, “What is Kuroo actually doing and why are we going to lie to Nekomata?”

 With a sigh, Koutarou leaned back on the edge of his desk. “Don’t tell him I told you, but Kuroo thinks that finding Yaku-kun now is his top priority. He doesn’t care if we catch a murderer or not. I guess Haiba has something to do with how he thinks right now…Thing is, we’re not making any progress and that kind of pisses Kuroo off. So he…I think he went to talk with an informant about Kurashiki.”

 Iwaizumi raised a brow. “And he’s not doing it because he wants to catch the murderer, but because of Yaku?”

 “Exactly! You see, they’re very good friends and all of this took a toll on him some way or another…He knows that sitting here and waiting for nothing will just lower the chances of actually helping Yaku-kun. So he took things into his own hands and is currently leading something like his own investigation…”  
 Iwaizumi frowned, brows forming little wrinkles over his forehead, and looked away from Koutarou in thought.

 “I’ve always known Kuroo knew a lot of people…But an informant…”

 “Also, he doesn’t want to tell the superiors that Yaku-kun is missing.” Koutarou continued. “He’ll report it tomorrow. I don’t know what it has to do with things, if we tell them everything now I guess it will be better, but Kuroo has different thoughts on the matter…”

 “Obviously,”

 “So right now, I’m really concerned about him…”

 Koutarou walked around his desk and sat back down heavily on his leather chair.

 “All I’m sure is, that Kuroo will do everything he can to wrap this case up.” He told Iwaizumi, who had again started typing on his computer, “By whatever means, he’ll find Yaku-kun. He told Haiba that he’ll help and I’m sure he will. That’s just the person he is.”

 Iwaizumi didn’t have to voice his agreement on the matter for Koutarou to know he thought the same. He didn’t even look at him when he spoke:

 “Do you mind refreshing my memory of last night? Because I can’t seem to be able to write my report and Nekomata-san wants it ASAP.”

**\---**

**2**

**\---**

Once Koutarou hang up, Tetsurou left his phone on the glass table before him and leaned back on the rest of the little leather couch. He looked out of the large window beside his table and sighed. He didn’t remember Shinjuku with anything good. The last time he came, Koutarou got shot. And before that, he was taken hostage in a mini-market while the rest of his unit stood outside and tried to talk the had-to-be thief out of suicide. No memory he had ever made in Shinjuku could ever be considered good. He only wished the current one won’t go in the same record.

 Tetsurou was just about to take another large gulp from his coffee when his old acquaintance Atsumu Miya entered the calm, corner café he had chose to be their meeting place. He looked as casual as always. It took him mere seconds to spot Tetsurou and slowly began to walk towards his table with a friendly smile. A smile that could deceive anyone, but not Tetsurou. 

 “I always wondered when I’ll get to see you in casual clothes.” Miya said cheerily, taking off his jacket and sitting down on the other side of the table. “Mind if I order breakfast and a cup of coffee before our conversation? You woke me up quite…late at night, or early in the morning? You choose. I had no time to do anything.”

 “Go ahead.” Sighed Tetsurou. It wasn’t like Miya was looking for his approval. He had raised a hand to call the waitress from the moment he sat down.

 The informant ordered the café’s special and a cup of something too fancy to be plain coffee, before turning to look at Tetsurou.

 “So,” he began, “What business might you have with me this early? Did you even sleep this night?”

 “No.” Tetsurou coldly answered, not amused with Miya’s light tone, “I have little time to spare and so I’ll go down to the main point. I need you to track someone down.”

 Miya’s smile fell and his brows furrowed in some convincing resemblance of concern.

 “What is it, Kuroo-san? You don’t look like you normal joking and provocative self. Did something bad happen?”

 “You can say so. A friend of mine disappeared,” Tetsurou took out the printed page of Kurashiki Makoto’s criminal record out of the pocket of his jacket and slipped it over the table to Miya.

 “Is this your friend?” Miya asked.

 “This woman’s possibly involved in his disappearance. I want you to track her down.”

 The waitress brought Miya his breakfast and drink, while the informant looked over Kurashiki’s record. If there was someone who could help Tetsurou find her, dead or alive, that would be him. Tetsurou knew a lot of people and a lot of people knew him, but from all the informants who still liked him enough to offer their help, Atsumu Miya had the most ability. He might have been young, but he knew far too much to still be alive. In the mean time, he had proven himself on the streets of Shinjuku as a man who didn’t take no for an answer. Tetsurou was one of the little policemen Miya cooperated with and acted respectful towards.

 After giving the printed page a quick look, Miya looked up at Tetsurou with a raised brow.

 “Kuroo-san…This woman is dead.”

 “Nice way to state the obvious!”

 Tetsurou groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, before leaning closer to Miya over the table.

 “Listen,” he began again, trying to keep his voice low, “We have fingerprints that prove that this very woman was on the scene when my friend disappeared. We know her record shows that she’s dead, we noticed. But the facts are in the prints.”

 Miya seemed amused while he listened to him. He took a big bite out of his sandwich and made it go down with a gulp of whatever warm drink he had ordered. After he was done, he looked back at Tetsurou, who, unlike him, had little to no patience to wait for him while he ate.

 “Kuroo-san, I mostly work on tracking down people who are alive.”

 “This woman’s alive too. While we have the fingerprints and record of only one Kurashiki Makoto, there are two in whole Tokyo. And the one I’m looking for is a newspaper correspondent.”

 “Then why don’t you just go and talk to her? Or her boss?”

 “We called the mentioned newspaper _and_ her boss. Guess who left yesterday early for dinner and didn’t come to work today?”

 “I still don’t see what my role is in this entire story, Kuroo-san. With all due respect…”

 Miya took another slow bite of his sandwich, took his time in both chewing and drinking his drink and by the time he was done, Tetsurou was sure he was doing it on purpose to tease him. And that was definitely annoying, seeing as he was the one to normally do all the teasing.

 “Your role in this,” he started again after Miya had his eyes on him, “Is to track down Kurashiki Makoto. The one who took her actual identity. We have a dead body too. Above all, for the unit, this is a murder case. And who ever took my friend brutally killed someone else’s.”

 “Judging by what I read,” Miya drawled, licking the front of his teeth and sending Kurashiki’s record another look, “This woman had a short history as a night worker.”

 “Just call it prostitute. I had enough of fancy language…”

 “Fine then. I’m comfortable with any word, I can use ‘whore’ as well. Anyway, whatever word we use for it, the first thing that comes to my mind is Sakusa Trading.” He raised a brow at Tetsurou, “You know why?”

 Tetsurou groaned. “You think? I don’t have to use the service of an information broker to know what Sakusa does while pretending to run a family-friendly trading company. We’ve been trying to get him down and convict him of organized crime for good ever since we got the case in our hands, but the weasel is sleazy…”

 “He just has _very_ good connections. He knows how to test the waters with everything. Who knows…he might even have people in your department.”

 Tetsurou narrowed his eyes. “We’re not talking about this now. I’m giving you a job.”

 And while that’s what he said, while those were the words that made it past his lips; Tetsurou’s mind was somewhere else entirely. Hateful words rang in his ears, hissed and spat in his face, words he could never forget.

  _I was going to pay off my debt to Sakusa and then flee somewhere where no one knew me_!

  _It wasn’t right to leave me on the street in the hands of both Sakusa and Ushijima_!

  _It wasn’t right to turn your ‘friend’ in when he begged you not to_!

  _I know so much about you, kitty cat_! _What will happen when all of that trash comes out, hmm_?

 “…Kuroo-san?” the voice of Miya, laced with fake concern, tore Tetsurou out of the trap of his thoughts and he finally looked back at the informant.

 “What were you saying?”

 Miya’s eyes narrowed, “I was saying that any work of mine will come at a price…A salty one.”

 “I don’t care about the money; all I want is information on Kurashiki Makoto.” Tetsurou was ready to give anything, only to find Morisuke. But that was something he didn’t tell Miya.

 “I suppose you’re doing this for the sake of your friend. I tend to treasure such connections,” Tetsurou didn’t doubt he did. “That’s why I’m willing to lower my price. And I’ll even throw in something as a bonus.”

 Tetsurou narrowed his eyes. For any informant to act understandable and lower his price was acceptable, even for one such as Miya, but to add in something more with such generosity was a bit unheard of. At least for Tetsurou. There definitely had to be a catch.

 But before Tetsurou found that out, he had to wait for Miya to finish yet another bite of his breakfast with his normal slow delight.

 “The deal is the following,” Miya began, “I’ll look up Kurashiki Makoto, not the dead prostitute – is the word I’m using fitting for your standards, Kuroo-san? – and I can also try to look something up on your latest murder victim. How does that sound?”

 “That’ll be good, but we’ll need some time to identify the corpse. His face is skinned to the muscle and his fingers have been chopped off.”

 Miya made a disgusted face. “No need to fill me in on the details. I’m eating…”

 Tetsurou could only roll his eyes. “If you can find something on him and figure their relationship then, be my guest. How much is the price?”

 “For information on Kurashiki, with the discount, the price comes to a total of…280.”

 “…280 Yen?”

 “No!” Miya almost laughed, waving a hand at Tetsurou, “280 _thousand_ yen!”

 “ _What_?! That’s my salary for a year!”

 Miya only shrugged, unfazed by Tetsurou’s expression of shock and outrage, “That’s my price, Kuroo-san. Just for you thought, I will lower it slightly more. 260 thousand. You game?”

 Tetsurou wasn’t. There wasn’t a time when he was less game than now. His mind raced, trying to figure some other way to get to Kurashiki and Morisuke, some other way that didn’t involve giving out his yearly salary to an informant. But there wasn’t any other way. He was playing a dangerous game with a dangerous someone. He couldn’t take chances. Even if they managed to find some lead to Kurashiki Makoto, it was obvious she was a step ahead and wouldn’t just surrender in the hands of the police. Or at least the one who said she was Kurashiki Makoto. And Miya was an expert. He knew what he was doing and knew how to get the finest of information. He would be a useful ally, but sadly, he preferred to win 280 thousand yen a day and not a year. When he said _salty_ prize, Tetsurou thought about something along the lines of five, maybe ten thousand yen…But Miya had went ahead of him self now.

 “Are you in, Kuroo-san?” the informant asked again, “Do we have a deal?”

 Tetsurou looked at him and took a breath through his teeth. He had no other choice. He couldn’t effort to wait until tomorrow or until they got a lead to Kurashiki. He needed everything done, and not just soon, but _now_.

 “I’m in. When do you want the money?”

 Miya smiled a friendly, innocent smile. One that didn’t belong on the face of a man who had just practically stolen 260 thousand JPY from a MPD policeman. Aside from the friendliness and innocence however, the smile was definitely pleased.

 “For you, Kuroo-san, my old friend, you can pay me after you end up happy with the results of my work.”

 Weather he would end up happy, Tetsurou didn’t know, but he knew one thing.

 He had another bad memory from Shinjuku in his record of Bad Shinjuku Memories.

**\---**

**3**

**\---**  

 The first thing Lev saw when he opened his eyes was Morisuke’s back. He lay close to him on the bed, so close that Lev could smell the faintest traces of sweat on the skin of his neck. He must have come back early from his night shift in the department. Lev smiled, as he watched the sheets move with every soft breath Morisuke took.

 Suddenly, the strong urge to cough took over him and ruined the peace of his morning. The raspy coughs were strong enough to the point of physical pain. Lev felt like someone had wrapped his arms around his neck and chocked him. He could barely breathe through his stuffed nose. The pain from his chest went up to his head and he felt like he could just die.

 His coughing must have woken up Morisuke, because in the next moment he was sitting up beside him and helping him do the same. He patted his back and called his name around the string of comforting words to help ease his suffering. Lev had never gotten such a bad cold and wondered who had cursed him with it. In the same time he thanked the one who had blessed him with the presence of his Yaku-san.

 “Are you alright?” Morisuke asked, once Lev’s coughs died down. He looked pale and worried. The bags under his eyes showed how little he had slept. Even if Lev wasn’t alright, he would have still nodded.

 Morisuke made him lay back down and covered him up to his chin. Another pitiful cough came from Lev and he tried to sniff back the trail of snot escaping his nose, as Morisuke ran a hand over his forehead, moving his bangs to the side.

 “You’re burning…” he whispered and moved away the covers from himself. When he made a move to stand up from the bed, Lev grabbed the edge of the T-shirt he slept with.

 “Stay…” he tried to say, voice raspy and weak. He felt Morisuke slip away from his light grip and that made him reach out further to grab onto him tighter, even though the muscles of his arm ached from the cold. “Come back…”

“ _Try tracking_ this _person down_.”

 Lev woke up, sitting up almost completely straight, covered in sweat and with the terrible need to blow his nose. His chest heaved and that caused him to cough, but it was nothing like the coughs in his dream. Unlike in his nightmare however, his throat hurt from having slept most of the night with an open mouth.

 After blowing his nose with great effort, Lev laid back down into the sweaty covers. He took deep, calming breaths and ran a hand through his sweaty – burning – forehead. As much as he could feel and tell, his fever had subsided for now.

 With a short, pitiful sniffle, Lev looked to his side. The _right_ side of the bed, where Morisuke slept. Unlike any other morning, this time his side of the bed was made. It was clear no one had slept on it tonight. And Lev didn’t even know how long it would be that way.

 The apartment was a lot quieter this morning. Maybe because there was no Morisuke to pace around and yell while he got himself and Lev ready for work. A quick glance at the digital clock on the bedside table told Lev he was actually late for work and no one had called him. It was already something past eleven. Probably his superiors had decided to let him take a few days off, given his cold. Koutarou must have told Tetsurou about what kind of weakling he was, whining and coughing like a kid under the covers…

 Despite having no motivation, Lev stood up and went to take a shower. His body ached and he could barely breathe, but he had to make some sort of try to start the day. He hadn’t been called to work, but that didn’t mean he would lay all day in his misery. After washing off the sweat and spending a great amount of time under the hot stream of the shower, the steam gathering in the bathroom clearing his sinuses, Lev felt better - in a physical way. Emotionally, he couldn’t feel worse.

 He dried himself off and got dressed. He even made his part of the bed, just like Morisuke always told him to do. By the time he went into the kitchen to start his computer and make himself coffee, his fever had acted up again, making his head spin. But Lev had no time to think about his cold. He did what Morisuke had taught him to do when he couldn’t go to work, yet there was so much work to be done – work from home. Once his coffee was done, Lev gulped down a few pills which could help with his fever and headache and sat down on the table in front of his laptop. Morisuke’s lay on the glass table in the living room, gathering dust.

 The first thing Lev did was send an e-mail to the only person in the unit who could help him, without telling him to rest and then work. He had no time to rest. He proofread his short message, wrote Yuuki Shibayama’s e-mail address and pressed send. While Lev could have asked either Hinata or Inuoka for help, he feared that they would miss out important details, which Shibayama wouldn’t. Lev only hoped his colleague was currently at the department and not outside, working on the case.

 While waiting for a replay to his short request, Lev took a pen and notebook. Another thing Morisuke had taught him was to take notes. Good notes helped to order the information they had gathered and gladly for Lev, he worked and lived with the master of good notes.

 After a few minutes, Shibayama send him a replay. The message told Lev that he couldn’t send him information just like that, but he would come by to give him whatever evidence the unit had gathered over the course of a night and half a morning. He had to go and pick up the medical report from the morgue as well, so Lev’s apartment would be on his way back to the department. Lev didn’t like the idea of waiting, but there was nothing more he could do.

 He sighed and turned off his laptop without sending a replay. Surely there was nothing Shibayama could give him that would help finding Morisuke.

 After giving it a quick thought, Lev again turned on his laptop and wrote Shibayama to come over when he was done at the morgue. Morisuke had taught him that in a twisted case, everything that made no sense was part of the great picture and was to be taken into consideration. Whatever clues his colleagues of the unit had gathered from the scene, they were important for the bigger picture. A picture that sadly involved Yaku-san more than it had to.

With a deep sigh, Lev leaned back into the chair. That’s how he spent the morning until Shibayama came. Staring at the ceiling of the kitchen and listening to the slowly starting rain from outside.

**\---**

**4**

**\---**

 The phone in the living room rang the moment Keiji opened the front door of the apartment. He wasn’t in a hurry to answer however. If it was Koutarou he would call him on his cell. Whoever else it was, it mustn’t have been that important to require immediate attention.

 Keiji closed the door to the apartment and toed off his shoes, the newest addition of the Bokuto family – their English setter pup Fumi – jumping around his feet. By the time he had taken off his jacket and Fumi’s leash, the phone had stopped ringing.

 Keiji washed the dog’s paws in the bathroom before letting him run around the apartment and washed his own hands before deciding to start lunch. He had barely set foot in the kitchen box however when the phone started ringing again.

 Keiji walked around the counter and stepped beside the couch, where on a short round table laid the stationary phone. He picked up the handle and raised it to his ear.

 “Akaashi Keiji on the phone, Bokuto residence, how may I help you?” he recited with ease and sat down on the couch.

 A raspy, but soft, voice answered him. “Akaashi-san, hello. It’s Yamiji Takeyuki, from the CIB; we spoke a few months ago when you were stationed in Tokyo.”

 Keiji frowned. “I remember. It’s nice to speak to you again, Yamiji-san.”

 “I’m calling to ask you if you have time this afternoon, for lunch.” Yamiji continued, “There are some things we have to discuss. There’s something that needs your assistance.”

 “It’s already half past twelve…Are you free at around half past thirteen?”

 “That’s perfect! I’ll be waiting for you in the restaurant we spoke in last time. Do you remember it?”

 “I do. I’ll see you there, Yamiji-san.”

 “Thank you for your time, Akaashi.”

 The man hung up, leaving Keiji to listen to the signal. Whatever good mood he was in since the morning, it was now washed away. He left the handle back on the phone and leaned back against couch, thinking. Fumi climbed beside him and nudged his side with his wet nose, but Keiji didn’t respond. He was too busy wondering what Yamiji would want to discuss that was _so_ important it needed _his_ assistance. It had to be no doubt another undercover mission and in that case, Keiji really wanted to decline whatever offer Yamiji would make him. His last mission had left a bad taste in his mouth and he didn’t feel ready to take any more risks. Keiji knew that this call would come sooner or later. He was still considered working and it was up to Yamiji to decide when exactly he would step on the stage again. The past year had been one of the most peaceful ones Keiji had had so far and he really wanted to keep it that way.

 But he couldn’t. While he was considered on the job, Yamiji and the other officials at the Criminal Investigation Bureau decided what he did and when he did it. Keiji should have known that resigning from Chubu to come to Tokyo wouldn’t change his situation and wouldn’t make his job easier.

 With a deep sigh, he looked at the clock on the wall. One pm was already nearing. Keiji gently ran his fingers over Fumi’s silky fur and stood up. He went into the bedroom and changed his clothes to something more formal for his lunch with Yamiji. God only knew how much he wanted to stay home rather than go out into the rain and have lunch with the official.

 Keiji walked through the living room and towards the door, Fumi jumping around his feet, expecting another walk. But he wouldn’t be getting it. Keiji pulled on his jacket and took the keys from his and Koutarou’s car. He waved Fumi goodbye and walked out the door, locking it afterwards out of habit.

 Keiji remembered a few months ago, spring had just arrived and the cherry trees in the parks had just begun to bloom, when he was first called in Yamiji’s office in Chiyoda. He had wanted to resign from the job for good, after the failed mission in Chubu and after all that had happened. But when the time came to tell Yamiji that, the words had somehow gotten stuck in his throat. His job was his getaway. It brought color to his passive and uninteresting life. While on the job, Keiji could be so many different people. Even Konoha’s death and his last words, which still rang loudly in the back of his mind most days, weren’t enough to make him forget about the thrill he felt every time he was assigned to a new mission. He craved the danger his job brought, but in the same time he dreaded it. What if Koutarou ended up being the next payment for his dangerous addiction?

 A few months ago, in front of Yamiji, in front of Sarukui and Suzumeda – who had also transferred to Tokyo with him after the Chubu incident – Keiji had offered his help for any further investigations and missions. No matter what they involved and where their base of operation was. No matter how long they were. Keiji thought that he could put an end to the crime around him. That’s why he had become an agent to begin with. That’s why he worked for the CIB’s organized crime squad. But some days, Keiji wondered if he was fighting a lost battle. What had happened in Chubu only proved that point. Bringing a lowly dealer like Yuuji Terushima down did almost nothing to end the trading in the region; it did nothing to end Wakatoshi Ushijima’s main sores of income. It saved no one. Keiji and the police only paid the price for nothing.

 With a deep sigh, Keiji parked the Suzuki he and Koutarou drove in front of the restaurant which Yamiji had chosen for their meeting place. He turned off the engine and while the car cooled down, he prepared himself for the run up to the door of the little corner restaurant under the heavy fall of the rain. Above him, the heavy gray clouds rumbled and lightning flashed in the distance.

 The restaurant which Yamiji had chosen was a small and warm place, perfect for a warm lunch on a cold day. It held a light and cozy atmosphere, accented by the peach and caramel colors of the furniture and the walls. Most of the tables were taken and when Keiji crossed the threshold and closed the glass door behind him, he saw Yamiji Takeyuki sitting on a table in the far away corner beside the long bar. When he saw him entering, the official waved a hand to catch his attention. Keiji exhaled the little air he still held and slowly walked towards the table. He was torn. Torn between the calmness of everyday life he had grown so accustomed to and the craving of thrill and excitement his job provided.

 “I’m happy you came, Akaashi.” Yamiji greeted him and stood up to shake his hand. “And you’re early. Proving my expectations of you right.”

 Keiji took off his jacket and hung it on the backrest of his chair before sitting down.

 “I try to stay in line. And once you make your rules a habit, they’re hard to get rid off.”

 Yamiji laughed cheerily. “I’m happy that a young man such as you understands all of that.”

 “Twenty six certainly isn’t _that_ young, Yamiji-san.”

 “Still young enough for some people. But,” he sighed, “We’re not here to just talk. I would love to have a casual conversation with you over lunch, but that will happen some time later. I suggest we order now?”

 Keiji raised a brow. “Your treat?”

 Yamiji grinned, “The CIBs.”

 And who was Keiji to resist a lunch offer from the CIB. When the waitress came to their table, Yamiji and he ordered the restaurant’s special. Yamiji ordered another cup of coffee, while Keiji ordered tea. Once the smiling waitress was on a suitable distance away, Yamiji again looked at him and leaned over the table.

 “As I told you, the CIB has a problem in need of your insistence. According to your record, you’re a splendid agent with no failed missions as of now. I would be glad if you could assist us.”

 “Depends on what the problem is. Then again, you aren’t giving me much of a choice…?”

 Yamiji sighed and leaned back in his seat, “Unfortunately, it’s the CIB in need of your help. We need a lot of people for what we have planned.”

 Keiji tried to keep his expression cold. “What does the operation involve?”

 “I don’t need to explain to you about Sakusa Trading and their illegal involvement in the underground world of crime?” Keiji narrowed his eyes, as he listened. “I supposed. We’ve been trying for years, even before Kiyoomi Sakusa was made the company’s director and family head, to stop the human trafficking ring they run under the covers of their wealth and prove their connection to Ushijima Commercial, which you probably know is more famous for their drug and weapon trafficking than their oil trade. We have a person working undercover, who is very close to Sakusa and according to her he regularly attends private meetings with Wakatoshi Ushijima, disguised as business meetings.”

 “But even if we know that they’re more than business meetings, their attorneys can easily prove otherwise. It’s not suspicious for the directors of the two biggest companies in Japan to bond.”

 “That’s hardly enough to raise suspicion, but we have another face rooted in the trafficking aspect of Sakusa’s business that has proof of many occurring disappearances of women right after those meetings.”

 Keiji frowned. “You believe that Sakusa trades women to Ushijima in exchange for…Drugs? Weapons?”

 “Mainly money, above all.”

 The two ceased their conversation when the waitress came with their orders and again waited for her to walk away, before Yamiji leaned over the table closer to Keiji again.

 “The main reason for our operation,” he lowly said, brows slightly furrowing over his forehead, “Is not to end the trafficking ring. That is almost impossible, while Sakusa has the best attorneys in Japan on his side. A month ago, one of our best agents reported her younger brother missing, right after she noticed being watched and followed. It is very likely that Sakusa’s catching up on us and taking measures.”

 “He’s sly,” Keiji noted, remembering everything Koutarou had told him about Kiyoomi Sakusa, “He has eyes everywhere and a good ring of informants. In that case, you can almost call him a maniac.”

 “True,” Yamiji nodded, “The mission is to infiltrate Sakusa Trading and get back our agent’s sibling. It’s very important. That sibling can give us traces to what exactly happens under the covers of the company. You understand that if we can prove Sakusa’s men guilty of kidnap and human trafficking that will take its toll on Sakusa himself and his income. No one wants to work with a child kidnapper.”

 “What’s the identity of your agents?” Keiji asked, taking a sip of his cooling tea.

 Yamiji took out three paper folders from a black business bag he had settled over the chair beside his and passed them over the table to Keiji.

 “The first one is Koushi Sugawara,” he began, as Keiji opened the first folder. “He works at a strippers club owned by Sakusa Trading from where most of the women have been disappearing. His main obligation is to give us information on the illegal trades Sakusa runs. So far he’s been doing it perfectly. He has the trust of Sakusa’s men and the women working in the club and thanks to his information we arrested a lot of prostitutes and dealers working for him.

 “The second one is the agent who managed to become quite familiar with Sakusa over the span of a year – Mako Outaki. From the Saitama PD. She gives us information about every step he takes, be it in his business or his personal life. She managed to work herself to the post of financial director in the company and is part of the director’s board. Lately however she’s been telling us that Sakusa’s been acting cold and hiding as much as he can from her. We think he may be catching on to her actual occupation.

 “Last but not least,” Yamiji took a sip of his coffee. “The agent whose brother went missing – Saeko Tanaka. An amazing colleague of ours whose help is deeply wanted in the CIB. Her work is centered in the public aspect of the company. She arranges the trades and the meetings with other companies. As you can see most of our agents have big positions in Sakusa’s company. Tanaka-san has been working in the company for over three years now without a rest and takes incredible risks for the good of the operation. We can’t just turn a blind eye to the assault of her family. Not to mention that if Sakusa’s managed to learn about it, he must have doubts about her as well. She’s our main spouse in the company and we can’t just loose her.”

 Keiji left the folders on the table beside their plates and looked up at Yamiji.

 “Who am I going in with?” he asked, finally taking a bite of his food. “Or am I going alone?”

 “We’ve assigned Sarukui and Suzumeda to the operation. You’ve worked together before as well, so we decided that it will be good to work with people you’re already accustomed with.”

 Keiji took another bite of his food and slowly chewed, weighting his options. Infiltrating Sakusa Trading was a risky operation, considering Kiyoomi Sakusa’s obsessions and his way of gathering information. It wasn’t like going in and making friends with lowly dealers like Yuuji Terushima. If Keiji wanted to go in and be a spy for the CIB, Sakusa would no doubt make a great research on him first and see right through his fake identity. And not just him. There was no doubt Wakatoshi Ushijima already knew about him, from his trusty left hand Satori Tendou, who had definitely learned about him and his colleagues from his underling Terushima. That had to be why their identity was seen right through. And if Ushijima knew and was in such a good relationship with Sakusa, then Sakusa only needed to ask him and their mission failed. And not just theirs. From then on, Mako Outaki and Saeko Tanaka would be found out about too and all of them would end up dead before the CIB noticed the problem.

 But there was something else which urged Keiji to take the risk. The life of a child was in their hands and probably not just one. A lot of prostitutes sought help from Sakusa, even though there was no proof of him having any interactions with them. They worked in the clubs the company secretly owned, had money and a roof above their heads. They were also protected from the violent clients and the police in town. But aside from that, a lot of those clubs took in stray girls, most of who were underage, cleaned them up and sold them across the country or overseas to wealthy buyers. All were good if they were under twenty and had no connections with their families. There was no way for them to be identified and had no relatives who looked for them. Once they fell in the clutches of Sakusa and his company, they disappeared. It disgusted Keiji. That was the type of crime which made him sick and furious. The reason he had joined the CIB and the reason he still worked after all this time and after everything which had happened. The mere thought of what happened to all those children after they disappeared made Keiji shudder.

 “Do you have any reports on the details of the operation?” he asked Yamiji, leaning back into his seat. “What will my colleagues and I do in the company? I’ll also ask you of a list with all the disappeared women. The Nerima PD is currently running an investigation and that can be of help for it…”

 “I can give you a list of the missing women.” Yamiji took a bite of his food and brushed the corners of his mouth with the white napkin beside the plate. “Most of them have families who are looking for them. Of course, they don’t even know what their children work. You will go to the club in which Sugawara works – under the name Miyamura – and will ask him for a job. Your new identity is in another folder. He’s already told about you and will be expecting you. He won’t take you in immediately. He’ll tell you to wait. A week later he’ll call a fake number to a fake phone we’ll give you – the phone will be listened on during the duration of the mission. He’ll tell you that he’ll give you a job as a teacher for the younger girls that are taken in from the street. Sugawara will tell you that the girls are orphans who are taken in by the generous Sakusa and you’ll agree to the job. We’ll arrange for your secret identity to have a long history in teaching, you shouldn’t worry about being found out about.”

 “And what about Sarukui-san and Suzumeda-san?”

 “I was just getting to it. In the mean time, Sarukui and Suzumeda will go under the name Yamanaka, a friendly couple holding a minor transport company, searching to adopt a child. In the process, Sarukui will try to form company connections with Sakusa. Sakusa will no doubt search for information on the new partner company and he’ll ask who? His good friend Ushijima. The catch is that a few months ago we really did create a company called Yamanaka Transit and that, under the name of the company; we signed a contract with UCC. As a good partner company we did everything Ushijima asked of us and when Sakusa asks, he’ll tell him only good things and urge him to sign a contract. In the mean time, they’ll search for traces of Tanaka-san’s little brother. And you’ll do the same together with Sugawara. The details are in the files.”

 Yamiji took out another paper folder from his bag and gave it to Keiji.

 “And what can you tell me about the missing women?” Keiji asked, setting the folder over the records of his new colleagues.

 “Disappearances of registered workers in Sakusa Trading have been happening since a little over a year ago.” Yamiji drank the rest of his coffee and left the cup beside his empty plate. “The first disappearance from the clubs ran by Sakusa, as we know from Sugawara, is of a woman named Sakaguchi. A month after that disappeared three young girls from the public home for rehabilitation Sakusa ‘good heartedly’ runs to help the young women in need. That’s the place you will go and work in. Soon after that, a woman name Kurashiki, a long time stripper in the club Sugawara has in check, disappeared as well. More young girls who claimed to have finished their ‘rehabilitation’ right before they disappeared also went missing. Sugawara told us that their friends say they disappeared overnight after their tutors came to get them. That continued methodically over the months until a woman from a club in Chuo Sugawara claimed to have visited with Sakusa himself was gone too. It happened a week ago as he told us. The woman’s name was Yajima Naomi. Sugawara said that Sakusa and she had a good relationship; she was the one running the club and tending to the strippers. I’m not sure if you know, but despite running a human trafficking ring and owning stripper clubs and public homes all over Kanto, Sakusa himself has a great phobia of germs and deceases. He doesn’t have intimate relationships with women and from what we can gather from both Sugawara and Outaki, he feels disgusted by them. Mostly because he thinks they’ll give him some decease…”

 Keiji raised a brow. “That’s taking mysophobia to a whole new level…”

 “You’re telling me!” Yamiji let out a soft laugh, “It’s obvious he has personal problems, but that still doesn’t make him any more innocent regarding the charges we want to give him.”

 “When does the operation start?”

 “We need some time so Outaki can prepare Sakusa for actually signing with new partner companies. The mission will most likely begin then. We can’t rush things and risk failing. We have no place for mistakes, Akaashi.”

 Keiji was certain. He himself wasn’t ready to make anymore mistakes, especially when dealing with the big shots of the crime world in Tokyo. He didn’t want what happened to agent Tanaka and her family to happen to him.

 “I take it you’ll call me when the time comes?”

 Yamiji nodded. “Until then, get yourself ready. Psychically. I read your record. I’m deeply sorry for what happened on your last mission.”

 “I’ll do my best not to make the same mistakes…I know what I did wrong last time. Unlike my other missions, I had family problems while the one in Chubu was going. I lacked my normal confidence. But this time it’ll be different.”

 It wasn’t just a promise to Yamiji; it was a promise to himself. He wasn’t going to mess up – in the name of Konoha and his memory and for the sake of all the children who became victims to Sakusa and the lies he advertised.

 “I hope it is.” Yamiji sighed and took out his wallet. “I suggest we pay the bill and get going. I don’t want to take more of your time.”

 Keiji didn’t answer, stuck in his thoughts and memories.

 After Yamiji paid the bill, the two stood up and headed together towards the door. The rain still hadn’t stopped and Yamiji offered to drive him home, but Keiji told him he already had a car and could drive himself. The two shook hands and said their goodbyes before walking under the rain towards their separate cars.

 Once Keiji was back in his Suzuki with the paper folders Yamiji had given him, he took out his phone and dialed Koutarou’s number. The same morning he had told him about his latest case and Morisuke’s disappearance. That was mostly why Keiji had asked Yamiji for a list of the missing women. The name Kurashiki had quickly stricken his interest and he didn’t even know all the details over Koutarou’s case. There was a big chance the other names might be of help as well.

 Koutarou took a bit to pick up, but when he did, he greeted Keiji with his usual cheerfulness.

 “Hey, Akaashi! What’s got you calling?”

 “I spoke with Yamiji-san over lunch just now,” Keiji began, leaning back in the driver’s seat of the Suzuki, “I’ll explain why when you return home, but I think I got something regarding your case. You’re looking for a woman right? According to Yamiji-san, a whole list of fifty six prostitutes and underage girls have disappeared. Most of them work and were getting ready to work for the stripper clubs and public homes of Sakusa Trading. The names Yamiji-san mentioned are Sakaguchi, the first woman to disappear around a year ago, Kurashiki, the woman you said you’re looking for, and Yajima Naomi. She’s been close to Sakusa and is the last to disappear no more than a week ago. Do I help you with this?”

 “And you’re asking?!” Koutarou yelled over the phone. “We’ve been looking for Kurashiki since Yaku-kun disappeared! Sakusa you say? I could almost feel that that weasel will be in it if Kurashiki was a whore! God!”

 “Koutarou-san, calm down.”

 “You’re great Akaashi! Tell me the other two names!”

 “Wait a bit…” Keiji turned over the folder with the names Yamiji had given him, “Sakaguchi Rie and Yajima Naomi. Do they ring a bell?”

 “Yajima doesn’t, but Sakaguchi…” Koutarou groaned over the phone, “Sakaguchi, Sakaguchi…I’ve heard it somewhere before, but I forgot now. I’m sure it wasn’t that far ago but I can’t remember! I will though! Wait, let me write it down…”

 “Koutarou-san, we’ll talk later when you come home. Yamiji-san wants me to go on a mission.”

 Koutarou answered once he was done scribbling down the names. “What mission? Where?”

 “I’ll tell you when you come home. Until then, I hope I’ve been of help…”

 “You were more help than you can imagine, but what’s this mission about?”

 “I’ll be stationed in Tokyo.” Keiji explained, “I’ll be working with Sarukui-san and Suzumeda-san. We’ll be infiltrating…Sakusa Trading…”

 Keiji expected Koutarou to make some sharp comment, he didn’t hold warm feeling for Kiyoomi Sakusa and his business, but instead, he was silent. When he spoke again, his voice was unnaturally serious.

 “And what are you going to do there?”

 “Recovery mission. The little brother of an agent of the CIB has been kidnapped by Sakusa’s men and it’s our job to get him and get to the bottom of the disappearances. Where the women are going or where they’re being sold and to who. Our main obligation is to return out agent’s sibling.”

 “Then you better do your job. Are you sure you can?”

 Keiji didn’t answer right away. Could he? _Would_ he? There was no room for questions or doubt. He _had_ to and he _would_.

 “I can.” He answered Koutarou, “It won’t be like last time, Koutarou-san. In any way. I’ll make sure to come back as soon as the job is done. You understand why I have to do it right? We’re talking about children’s lives on our hands and the mere thought of what happens to them after…”

 “I know, Akaashi!” Koutarou exclaimed, “Telling you not to go is like telling myself to forget about Yaku-kun and hand out my resignation papers! Every job is dangerous, but if we can do something to save a life, it’s our duty to do it!...All I want you to do…Is to come home.”

 “I will…” Keiji promised. “I will.”

 The two said their goodbyes and hung up on each other. Keiji sat in the car for a few more minutes, enjoying the sound of the heavy raindrops falling over the roof of the car.

 With a deep sigh, Keiji started the engine and was soon driving up the street through the puddles, towards his apartment building.

**Author's Note:**

> Finally back from my week long hiatus with this peace of gold!~ I'm so happy, finally i can overcome the shame from Dead End!!!! Pls, comment and review! New chapters will be posted every Sunday! Plus, I'm so happy to finally use the new characters! Miya bae will come soon too!!! By the way, I was thinking of Lev to be the main character, but it kind turned out to be Kuroo...I aint even mad!


End file.
